Interlude: Fairy Love
by Magnafeana
Summary: Taking place as Lucy and Natsu step into their week of passionate nights, watch as the great dragon and the angel form a union never seen in over four hundred years! *Note to many readers: this will be a mature story for sexual content.
1. Part I: Our Hearts of Hearts

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Fairy Tail_**

* * *

 **Summary**

Taking place as Lucy and Natsu step into their week of passionate nights, watch as the great dragon and the angel form a union never seen in over four hundred years!

* * *

 **Interlude:**

 **Fairy Love**

 _by_

 **Magnafeana**

* * *

 **Part I**

 **Our Heart of Hearts**

* * *

When the door closed behind them, neither had any idea what to expect. They were stuck inside a room; it was a suite with everything a newly wedded couple could want.

Lucy gasped and wriggled out of Natsu's arms to run into the room as best she could in her dress. "Natsu, look at this!" she breathed, twirling around.

The suite was already set for romance. It was a room fit for two newly-weds ready to romance each other into the consummation of their marriage. The king size bed was fit for five people, but was meant for two lovers to share. A caramel couch faced a roaring fire in the mouth of a fireplace with candles already lit on the coffee table. The lights were dim as if to set the mood.

Lucy kicked off her heels and ran to push the balcony doors open. She gasped. "Oh _wow_ …" Her eyes widened at the view before her as she took careful steps toward the railing. The balcony was not bare. It had a table and a pair of comfortable chairs for the two of them to watch the sunrise and sunset. But Lucy could not sit.

Tenrou Island was more beautiful than the first time Lucy stepped onto the island. Before, only the memory of the S-Class trials could be associated with the sacred island of Fairy Tail. She could still recall the first S-Class Trial she witnessed. The trials to see who would join the ranks of Gildarts, Mirajane, and Erza stopped when Grimoire Heart, Zeref, and Acnologia appeared, wrecking anyone's chances of reaching a new level of their mage status. But the island had never looked any more gorgeous than now. It became apparent their room was on top of the Great Tenrou Tree, surveying the whole island. The lights of nearby islands reflected onto the dark waters. Watery reds and glowing oranges and peeking emeralds and serene ceruleans created a mural in the ocean.

"So beautiful," Lucy sighed, hands gripping the railing.

A warm figure covered her body. Hands encircled around her waist. Natsu sighed, warm breath tickling her skin. "Yeah. You are," he remarked, smelling her hair.

Lucy smiled and moved her hand to caress his cheek, looking back at him. Soft chocolate met with loving onyx and the two closed their eyes as they leaned in for a sweet kiss. It lasted for a brief eight seconds before they both pulled back, staring at each other with only tender affection.

Natsu kissed her temple and buried his chin in the crook of her neck. The two of them overlooked the scenery with awed eyes. "Finally, we're married," he sighed.

Lucy hummed her content. "I know," were the only words she could come up with.

"Still took way longer than I thought," Natsu continued, frowning. "I thought we were never going to get married! We still should have gone with my idea!"

Lucy snorted with an exasperated smile on her lips. "If we went with your idea, we would've had no wedding and our honeymoon would have been six months instead of our wedding planning."

"Exactly!" Natsu grinned.

"Natsu!" Lucy tried to scold.

Natsu only laughed at her. "I mean weddings are totally lame! But"—his grin transitioned into an affectionate smile—"I loved our wedding because it was ours, y'know? It wasn't as boring as I thought it would be. It was everything I wanted."

Lucy nodded. "It was beautiful," she agreed. "I was so nervous, but then I saw you and didn't feel so nervous anymore. It was like seeing you made everything bad go away."

"I know what you mean." Natsu pulled her tighter against him, lips kissing her neck. He snuggled into the crook of her neck, placing soft kisses there. "Seeing you in your dress? Wow. I just wanted to rush down and take you away to here."

"Natsu!" Lucy laughed.

A grin wove onto Natsu's face and brushed against Lucy's skin. "It's true! But I'm glad I didn't or else we couldn't have had such an amazing wedding! And the after party—"

"Reception," Lucy corrected.

"Right. Reception," Natsu amended, placing another kiss on her. "But it was _definitely_ Fairy Tail worthy."

"There was no fighting," Lucy reminded.

Natsu did his best to shrug. "Yeah, so what? The food was so good and I got to dance with you. To me, that's a Fairy Tail party."

Silence befell the two. Natsu busied himself with caressing Lucy's neck from time to time, but Lucy kept to herself. She took a moment to think of all that happened. She was married to Natsu Dragneel. Even though they had turned in their marriage certificate before the wedding, even though Lucy walked down the aisle, even though they both said, "I do", even though they had exchanged rings, even though Natsu kissed her in front of the congregation, Lucy could not believe anything that had happened had actually happened. It was confusing to her. The Natsu who brought her to Fairy Tail, the Natsu she had known back when she was only seventeen, young and sweet, would have never been this affectionate with her. Back then, it seemed neither of them were set on marriage but on missions. They defeated those who dared hurt their family and friends. Even now all that had happened in the past years felt a little surreal.

Lucy had not realized she was in her thoughts until Natsu chuckled. "What are you thinkin' about, Lucy?" he asked.

Lucy rolled her eyes in a playful manner. "I'm just trying to accept that this is real," she said.

Natsu frowned as he removed his hands from her sides and slid into the position next to her. "Why wouldn't this be?" he asked.

Lucy looked at him and gave a half-shrug, still smiling. "I don't know. Part of me is still excited that you even proposed to me and part of me is wondering just how lucky I am to have found someone as great as you," she answered.

Natsu grinned as he slid his hand onto Lucy's and interlaced their fingers, rubbing a thumb over her palm. "I get it. I'm still surprised you didn't say 'no'," he admitted sheepishly.

Lucy tilted her head. "Why would I say 'no'?"

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know. I mean I _was_ late for our date, remember?"

Lucy nodded all too knowingly. "Yeah, I do. I waited nearly an _hour_ for you at that restaurant," she reminded, making Natsu feel a pang of shame. But she did not seem the least bit upset with him. "I even left and went to the park. I thought you were ditching."

Natsu scratched the back of his head guiltily. "C'mon, Lucy, you know I'd never ditch our dates," he assured.

Lucy laughed, nudging him on the shoulder. "Of course I do. But I was so angry with you! You were busy for the past month with missions and training, and I thought you were just getting too tired of me or something," she confessed, averting her eyes.

Natsu took his free hand and used a finger to lift Lucy's face for her eyes to meet his. He smiled at her with rare soft feeling. "I'd never get too tired of you. I promise that. And I always keep my promises."

Lucy returned the smile, eyes sparkling. "I know you do," she murmured, gaze never leaving his. "I hope I can protect you."

Natsu caressed her cheek with his hand and Lucy sighed, leaning into his touch. "We promised to protect each other, didn't we?" he reminded her.

"But what if I—?"

"Don't worry."

"But—!"

Natsu shushed her by placing a finger over her lips. "Relax! We'll be fine as long, okay? We're going to be fine as long as we're together." Lucy remained silent as Natsu took his finger off her mouth. He gave her a look full of affection. "I love you, Lucy Dragneel," he declared.

Lucy looked at him with a small smile. "I love you too, Natsu Dragneel," she proclaimed. "Sorry for worrying."

Natsu chuckled. "It's what you do. And I love that about you," he accepted.

Lucy rolled her eyes. "You love _everything_ about me," she pointed out.

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows. "What's wrong with that?" he demanded. "Don't you love everything about me?"

Lucy pressed her lips together to hide her playful grin, but her mischievous eyes gave her away as they wandered away from her beloved's stare. " _Well_ …"

Natsu pouted. "That hurts, Lucy."

Lucy stuck her tongue out at him. "Good. Seeing you hurt is what I live for," she teased.

Natsu gave her a fanged grin as he leaved closer to her. "Really? Well maybe you should be punished for trying to hurt me," he decided in a low growl. His dark eyes flashed in a way Lucy had seen many a time. When those times happened, the two of them would only go so far before Lucy would stop them both, vowing she would not do anything too intimate until after she was married. Natsu had agreed to her terms, but even he was straining to control himself after a while of being denied. He would not be denied anymore.

Natsu dipped his head to capture her lips with his own. Lucy made a muffled noise of surprise, but sank into her craving and kissed him back. The kiss was not as honeyed or acquitted as their wedding kiss or the reception kisses had been. It was full of untamed, beastly passion and it would not go back in its cage. He circled his arms around Lucy's waist as she placed a hand on his neck and another hand ran through his hair. Lucy had figured out a while ago that Natsu was sensitive when she massaged his scalp. His reaction to it would mean more desperation for her and more passion in their heated moments. He gave a low, guttural growl and the kiss became rougher.

Lucy felt him growl against her lips as his hands ran over her back. His fingers danced on her skin, making her arch a little and move closer to him. He was teasing her. He knew her sensitive spots like the back of his hand and knew if he applied a little heat to the tips of his fingers and ran them down her spine, she would become weaker.

Natsu grinned when he heard a soft moan.

"You're…cheating," Lucy got out as she tried to pull back. But Natsu would capture her lips again to silence her. "No…magic!"

Natsu's grin broadened as his fingers paid a little more attention to the base of her back, circling there. He could feel Lucy tense with pleasure. She may have considered it cheating since he was using his magic on her, but her reaction to his actions spoke louder than her words.

Lucy suddenly broke away, panting, as Natsu regained his breathing little by little. She glared good-naturedly at him. "You and your hands," she muttered.

Natsu breathed a laugh. "You know you love them."

Natsu reached down to kiss her again, but Lucy put a hand to his face, stopping him. Before he could whine, Lucy smirked at him, tugging him by his scarf to follow her. "How about we take this to the bedroom?" she suggested in that low, husky voice that made Natsu excited.

All Natsu wanted to do was kiss her again, but she would dodge each time and he would growl, impatient. She was teasing him, and he was going to snap if she continued to dodge his attempts. She stopped at the bed and reached up to give Natsu a kiss. He returned it eagerly, moving his hands toward her when she slipped from his grasp, backing away a few steps.

"Lucy!" Natsu whined. "Don't do that!"

Lucy grinned. "You wait here. I'll be back," she announced.

Natsu arched an eyebrow and began to slowly walk toward her. With each step he took, she would take another one backward. He growled, ready to spring on her. " _Lucy_ …" Lucy turned on her heel and managed to get into another room and shut the door by the time Natsu got there. Natsu banged on the door. "C'mon, Lucy, don't do this to me!" he pleaded.

He heard Lucy snicker on the other side. "Natsu, I want to make this romantic for us! Go by the bed and wait!"

"I've been waiting _forever_ though," Natsu persisted. "Can't we do it _now_?"

The door swung open and stood there was Lucy, a hand on her hip and the other gripping the door handle. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear as she shot Natsu an irritated look. "I promise you're going to like this, okay? I need to get a special thing made for just you."

Natsu's eyes lit up. "Really?" He sounded like a child being told he would get a treat for being good.

Lucy sighed. " _Yes_. I'll be out soon."

When the door closed in his face, Natsu stood there for a few moments before walking back the way he came, groaning inwardly and pouting outwardly. He had been waiting for the day the two of them could become one for so long. In their dating years, when a make-out session between them would get heated to the point where Natsu was struggling to get off his pants, interruptions would get in the way. Sometimes, it was Gajeel who would call for him on an assignment. Sometimes, Erza and Gray would barge in with a mission in hand. Other times, Loke would randomly appear, trying to woo Lucy. Even Happy would burst through Lucy's window and proclaim he wanted to go fishing so he could get Carla fish. And a few times Lucy pushed him off, wanting to wait. And he respected her for wanting to wait.

But they were married now! He did not want to wait anymore!

Natsu threw off his blazer and tie and scarf before plopping down onto the bed, rolling onto his back. He kicked off his shoes and socks for good measure as well. He crossed his arms over his chest in a very immature fashion, but he cared none too much. So he was frustrated. It was bound to happen. Natsu spent his life learning to control his magic power. Igneel had taught him as much as he could before he sealed himself in Natsu's body. But from then on, Natsu used his missions and his fights at Fairy Tail as training for control. Albeit he got carried away in fights, he matured and learned little by little to reserve his full strength for worthy opponents. However, when his control came to Lucy, he was still barely managing not to throw her onto a bed and take her slowly, lovingly, roughly, bruisingly, until he consumed her and she would need to rely on him for life, for air, for love.

Natsu winced. Such thoughts sounded so cruel, but he could not help himself. Lucy was his wife and he loved and respected any and all decisions she made. She was still the girl he befriended that day in Hargeon Port. But as his mate, his craving, his thirst for her would never cease. Had it not been for Igneel and his teachings, Natsu knew without a doubt his instincts would have driven him to forcibly have sex with Lucy, to mate with her, to… _hurt_ her. And he knew—oh, it disgusted him that he knew—their mating would not be as loving or gentle as Lucy desired and dreamt. No, it would be for the sole purpose of proving dominance, of _breeding_ , of letting go of self-restraint, of controlling her.

And that _scared_ Natsu.

There would always be a part of Natsu—not a large part, but something he would unconsciously think about—that would desire Lucy in such a way. But the other part of him—the human part—exercised strong self-control. However, even that side of him would be restless.

Natsu exhaled loudly. In all his years, he never thought there would be a girl to make him feel his inner desires. But when he saw Lucy, he selfishly wanted her to himself. She was that light and he was set on possessing it. His instincts terrified at him at first. They were so strong, so demanding. At first, he came to Gajeel for guidance, allowing himself to be vulnerable and show his fear of hurting Lucy. Gajeel had informed him as much as he could, but even he had no true understanding. So, they went to the person they firmly believed had the answers to everything: Levy. She had dug up a few books she had managed to track down about dragons. From what most of what the content was, Gajeel had figured out and Natsu had it explained to him already. But there were certain pages that were an eye-opener for Natsu and even Gajeel was stunned.

Ten stained pages with another page half ripped off were about the process of dragon mating.

Levy read the section aloud and, for once, both Dragon Slayers were silent. Natsu had thanked Levy and said his farewell to Gajeel and left silently. He walked all the way to his house, numb. He did not know what to think. What could he think after all that?

That Lucy would hate him.

That he would hurt Lucy.

All because of the blood in his veins and the magic he learned.

Natsu ignored the information for what seemed like months. He let it slip into the back of his mind and was able to mask his feelings with his goofy grins and cheerful nature. Lucy never suspected a thing. She carried on as normal. He poked fun at her when she would eat cake, teasing she would get fat and her wedding dress would not fit her. He was scolded for not caring enough about their wedding, to which he would always assure he cared about her, just not for the boring ceremony. She would still laugh with him and allow him to stay in her bed with her, allow him to kiss her and touch her and pleasure her with only his hands and mouth.

Oh, Lucy, how ignorant was she.

Natsu felt unbearable guilt for keeping secrets from the woman he loved, but he had no choice. He had to do it. But he knew better than to do the ritual with people around. Lives would be endangered. With help from Master Makarov, Natsu arranged their honeymoon be on Tenrou Island, away from civilization, but still close enough that if any real danger appeared backup could come. It made his smile falter whenever Lucy inquired about the honeymoon location to Mira, but he kept his façade. He had to. For Lucy.

* * *

 _Master Makarov looked at him with austere, onyx eyes unflinching. He looked intimidating behind his office desk, his frown prominent, but never upset—just stern, as if he were about to say something serious. "Are you sure?" he checked after moments of silence._

 _Natsu nodded back confidently, his own onyx eyes unyielding. "I have to," he insisted. "I can't… I can't do it with people so close. I don't want to hurt anyone, Gramps."_

" _But what about Lucy?" Makarov asked gruffly. Natsu did not avert his gaze, but his confidence wavered into the feeling of being uncomfortable. It was as if he was staring at Lucy's father. "Lucy will get hurt," Makarov reminded._

" _I know," Natsu agreed, sounding a bit miserable. "I know, okay? I get it. I'll hurt her. I know. But I have to do this."_

 _Makarov's eyes softened, if only a little. He hummed. It sounded rough, old and used. But it sounded considerate. It sounded like Master. "You've matured," he said softly. "I've seen how much you worry about her. And I know this will be hard for you."_

 _Natsu let his eyes drop to the desk. He could not stand looking at the master. Not when all he saw was pity. "I have to," he muttered. "It doesn't matter about the whole thing about not turning into a dragon. I still have to do this, Gramps. And Lucy will get it, too."_

" _You're hoping," Makarov pointed out._

 _Natsu nodded._

 _Makarov kept his stern look about him. "Natsu," he said seriously, "if you can promise me that when we see Lucy once more, she will no longer be in any pain, then by all means, I grant you your wish."_

 _Relieved onyx flickered up to solemn onyx. "Really?" Natsu pressed._

 _Makarov nodded. "Yes."_

" _Thank you, Gramps." By the way Natsu breathed the two words, he meant it with every ounce of sincerity. He truly meant it._

 _Makarov shook his head. "Thank me once you come home, brat," he advised._

* * *

The sound of soft footfalls made Natsu forget his memories and turn his head. Lucy was approaching the bed with the same shyness she used to have when she dressed nice for him. But she was not dressing nice for him. She was dressing sexy for him.

The term "sexy" was never a term Natsu could ever grasp before. Sure, he had heard the word tossed about the guild. However, it was mainly from a drunk Cana who was always raring to grope Lucy's chest. Macao, Wakaba, and Master Makarov said the word to describe women who wore little clothing and smelled too strong of multiple men and liquor for Natsu to care. Loke—when he was a regular guild member—called plenty of women that and it seemed women called him that right back. Lucy had even said the word a few times. But to Natsu, it was just a word. But he realized as he grew up, that word would have value to him.

Lucy bowed her head down as pink dusted her cheeks, hands behind her back as she stopped in front of him. Her gaze found his astonished one and quickly looked away, embarrassed. "So? What do you think?" she asked.

Natsu could not even blink. "What do I think?" he repeated. He did not know what to think. He had always been attracted to Lucy physically, but this time, it was too much. A glitter net baby doll died in the virgin color of white barely covered her milky skin. Natsu's eyes roamed up and down her. He saw more cleavage than he had seen with her. There were shirts when she teased him a bit, but this was more than teasing. He could even see the matching snowy thong that went along with. He had seen Lucy's underwear before, but this time was different.

Lucy was sexy. She looked so untouched, so submissive, so innocent. Natsu could feel his body growing a little hard just by looking at her. He took his time to gaze at her, eyes trailing all over her body. No one but him would ever see her this way. He could feel satisfaction at such a possessive thought. No one but him would ever witness her body like this. _No_ _one_.

Lucy lowered her head and bit her lip. She took his silence as his disapproval. "Do you not like it?" She sounded crestfallen. "Sorry. Cancer gave me this one, and I—"

"Lucy, shut up."

Lucy looked at Natsu in swirling confusion and surprise. "Huh?" was her intelligent reply. He suddenly stood up, towering over her. She looked up at him nervously, fidgeting. It was mortifying for her to show her husband such as display. And to think he might not like it…

Natsu grabbed her hand and guided her to touch his chest. She felt the material of his white dress shirt, but could feel the hardness of his toned chest. She felt something else too. Something racing.

Natsu looked down at her softly. "Do you feel that? That's my heart."

"It's going fast," Lucy observed quietly.

Natsu chuckled. "Yeah. It goes fast a lot when I see you. And it's going really fast seeing you in this."

Lucy blushed fiercely—something she had not done in long time. It was true she still blushed at being embarrassed—who didn't?—but these feelings were so new and her inexperience made her bashfulness increase. She was back to the shy girl she used to be around him when they were alone. "Sorry," she managed to squeeze out. "I'm just not used to this yet."

Natsu cupped her cheeks with his hand and brought her in for a kiss. It was soothing and only lasted a few minutes before he retracted. He could see the disappointed look in her eyes and grinned. He cackled. "Just wait, Lucy! You're about to get the adventure of a lifetime!"

Lucy shouted and laughed when Natsu swept her off her feet and carried her in his arms. He threw her a little into the air and she landed in his arms again. He grinned at her. "Lucy, have you gained weight?" he teased.

Lucy scowled at him, trying to twist out of his hold. "I will Lucy-Kick you!" she threatened.

Natsu simply laughed and twirled her around, as she demanded she put him down through fits of laughter. He laughed with her and gently laid her in the bed. He crawled on top of her, grin teasing and eyes full of frolicsome.

Lucy dodged when Natsu tried to swoop in to kiss her. He whined again, which made Lucy laugh again. "Sorry, sorry! Just nervous I guess…" Lucy sighed when Natsu looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "I might turn out to be horrible," she elaborated.

Natsu snorted. "You'll be awesome," he assured. "Besides, you already got a little all day."

"Yeah, I know," Lucy recalled. "You've been kissing me all day—"

"You didn't complain," Natsu reminded. Lucy harrumphed, and he laughed. "I think the garter toss was my favorite part," he remarked.

Lucy groaned. "You didn't have to dive under my dress to get the garter, you know! I was so embarrassed when you started kissing me there!"

"But no one else knew what I was doing," Natsu pointed out with a grin. "C'mon, you liked it!"

Lucy blushed and looked away. "Whatever," she grumbled.

Natsu shook his head and cackled. "Alright, Misses Dragneel, you've been tempting me too much. So now I'm left with a few options."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "And those are?" she prompted.

"Well, we could have wild animal sex—"

Lucy smacked Natsu on the chest. "Natsu!" she scolded.

"What? Cana said, 'the rougher, the better'!"

Lucy groaned. That Cana…

Natsu continued as if Lucy never disrupted. "Or we could a meaningful love-making sex Mira told me about," he listed.

Lucy's eyes widened at his statement. "Wait a minute! Mira told you about making love?" she questioned.

Natsu nodded. "She gave me advice about being gentle and stuff and trying not to hurt you." At that, Natsu looked offended. "Like I'd hurt you! But she said I could." He looked at Lucy assuringly. "I promise I won't hurt you."

Lucy smacked her palm against her forehead. "Mira," she groaned. That woman was going the death of her.

"She also told me about those weird condom things." Natsu looked at Lucy with a cocked head. "Did you want to use one?"

Lucy's cheeks heated up into a solid blush. She covered her face with her hands, shaking with mortification. "Oh God, Natsu…" she groaned.

Natsu frowned, his eyes innocently confused. "What? Mira said it's polite to ask first, and I want to do everything right for our first time." He grinned happily. "I want to be able to take care of you. You're my one and only, Lucy."

Lucy peeked from her hands and her embarrassment melted into the feeling of being touched. Natsu respected her and showed it through his words. He would never push her because he cared about her. He loved her. "Natsu," she sighed lovingly.

Natsu reached a hand to stroke her hair affectionately. "I don't want to screw this up with you," he said softly.

Lucy hummed, pleased. She craned her neck to give him a peck on the lips. "You have faced some of deadliest people in all of Fiore. You beat Zeref and Acnologia. Heck, you were a demon for a time. And you're still afraid of messing this up?" She laughed. "I don't get it."

Natsu snorted. "Geez, Lucy, I thought it was easy. You're supposed to be smart." Lucy wrinkled her nose and gave him a glare. However, her pouting lips made Natsu laugh. "C'mon, Lucy, you're my North Star! The girl I catch every time she falls." He paused, expression considerate. "Which is a lot, actually. You're really clumsy."

Lucy swatted at him and tried to get him off her. She huffed, annoyed, but Natsu held her down, silencing her with a kiss full of passion. Lucy fell into the kiss easily, moving her lips against his. Warmth began to spread throughout her body, making her skin tingle.

Natsu pulled away and grinned when he saw Lucy's unfocused eyes. "I don't have Igneel anymore," he suddenly said without a note of sadness. "And you don't have your parents anymore. But we have each other now. We were never alone, even when we thought we were." His grin softened into a smile. "You're my never-ending adventure. You're my new happiness. And I might've faced some pretty bad bad guys, but losing you is a lot scarier."

Lucy sniffed and blinked back unplanned tears. "Natsu… You're my happiness too. I want you to always know that. We're in this together. And I'm"—she blushed—"scared of messing up too."

Natsu looked at her with shock before he crowed with laughter. A goofy grin adored his face. "Wow. Guess we're both kind of new at this."

Lucy laughed and bashfully nodded. "Yeah. Guess so."

"So what do you want to do?" Natsu asked. "Meaningful or that animal sex Cana talks about."

Lucy hummed, tapping her chin. "How about meaningful," she decided.

"Great! Wild animal sex it is!"

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out in laughter when Natsu dipped down to shower her neck in quick kisses. She squirmed underneath him when his feathery kisses tickled her more than aroused her. "Natsu, you're such a jerk!"

Natsu stopped and laughed. "And that's why you married me!" he decided proudly. At Lucy's pout, Natsu rested his forehead against hers. His eyes softened into the delicate love she loved seeing. "Don't worry, Lucy. I won't hurt you."

Lucy put a hand to his cheek. "I know you won't. I trust _you_ , Natsu. I love you."

"I love you too," Natsu murmured.

Lucy sighed as he moved his lips to her neck. The kisses this time were slow and deliberated, leaving spots of heat whenever he moved onto the next area. They made Lucy shiver and move her hands through his hair as encouragement and compensation. But it made her a little uneasy. No one could prep one for sex; it just happened, as Mira would say anyways. With those heated nights between her and Natsu, both of them had experience in foreplay. It was all they would do since she was resolute on saving her virginity until marriage. But foreplay and actual sex were different.

Foreplay was all about titillating the senses. You wanted your partner to feel alive under your touches. You were encouraged to explore their body, to be surprise with the little curves in their body, to discover a new little dot on their hip, to understand what places were meant to be kissed, meant to be teased, and meant to be heavily stroked. Foreplay created that tension that could snap any moment. It was made for those breathy moans and impatient growls. It was about the sweat, the arousal, the heat between the two. It created confidence and trust. It helped you learn, it created the intimacy you had now with your partner.

Sex? That was different. It was not "just sex". It was more than just that. It was all about connection. It was something that should not be done so carelessly. It brought people together; it tore people apart. It could break a will to live and yet give new life. It could be used out of anger, out of grief, out of love, out of hate. Sex brought out that emotion you could never describe. It contradicted itself. There was pain, but there was pleasure. There was confidence, but there was uncertainty. Sex could cause addiction, but it could cause rejection. The experience was never the same between two people. It made them exposed to the other. It made them vulnerable. _Would it be bad? Would it be good? Would I feel amazing afterwards? What if I screw up? How do I know when my partner comes? When will they? Is it okay for me to be doing this?_ Sex brought endless questions. No matter that you knew where everything was supposed to go, it was a matter on how to get there and what to do once there. Sex was never easy and was never calm. It made up its own rules on how to claim victory each game.

Natsu felt himself shaking slightly. He wanted to curse for being such a wimp and trembling, but he could not help it. Before, when they were dating and eventually engaged, he knew what to do—in a way. To be honest, he had to lower his pride to ask Cana, Gray, and Loke about how to start a kiss. A damn _kiss_! Happy thought he looked stupid when he would try to recreate the lip positions the three made, but Natsu was intent on pleasuring Lucy. Surprisingly, those three were not the most helpful. Laxus out of all people came to him and sat him down, giving him a "blow-by-blow" from initiating a kiss to making Lucy do those silly whines that made him want to kiss her harder.

It was awkward the first time they kissed, and Natsu was shaking then too. He had never kissed a girl, let alone tried to get her to want him. Hell, he never thought hard about desire when he was younger! Well, he had caught Gray masturbating in their early teenage years, but that was once! It was certainly scarring, and Natsu was snappier when Gray had no underwear on after seeing Gray jerk himself off. Natsu denied he was curious for the reasons Gray would touch himself like that other than for reason to take a piss, but when he met Lucy, he began to have the urge to touch himself like Gray. He had no idea why he wanted to touch himself when he began thinking about Lucy more and more. In fact, Natsu panicked the first time he had an erection! He cried to Mira of all people, thinking himself sick, but the barmaid merely laughed at his misery. She had told him to follow his instincts and it would all go away. Confused, Natsu ran back to his house—but took the long way so no one would catch him with his problem—and after making sure Happy was not home, he ran to his bathroom.

When Natsu pulled out his erection, it fascinated and terrified him. He had heard about such weird things from Macao and Wakaba and even the liquored mouth of Cana, and a few others, but it never truly happened to him. Sure, there were times it would kind of get hard, but he believed it normal and left it alone. Now, it had become a problem. It had curled a little with the flared head a pinkish color. To him, it looked excruciating on the organ and he winced. He touched it and was astounded by how much it shocked him, how much he was pleasured by the touch. He even shivered! So weird!

Natsu had thought back to what he had accidently seen Gray doing and followed Mira's advice about following his instincts. But his instincts and Gray's movements all led to him touching himself. Was that okay? He hesitantly touched himself, but added a stroke.

Damn, it had felt _amazing_!

Natsu had stroked again and again, each time more pleasurable than the last. He felt jolts of excitement making his body tingling. It was a peculiar tingling sensation. It was like his body was getting hotter and hotter. Yet, how could that be? His element was fire! But he had not cared. He just felt the need to keep going. He felt something building up inside him. It was hard to describe himself. It felt like…his fire was growing somewhere in his body and wanted to be let out. And he felt that if he kept stroking, he would let it out. So he did. However, something wrong happened.

Lucy had came into his mind.

Natsu had stopped, horrified and in pain, when he recalled memories of Lucy. It was mortifying. How could he even think of her at a time like this? But thinking of her put himself in more pain. The fire inside him grew and wanted to be let out even more. This was new! He testingly stroke himself and thought of Lucy. His hips moved a little into a thrust in his hands and he moaned at the growing fire. It was getting harder to contain. Again, he remembered another image of Lucy and stroked again. It seemed the fire was getting more and more wild. Natsu then went slowly, going through all the memories he had of Lucy. However, he had not realized the more he thought of her, the faster he went. He came unexpected on his bathroom wall, splattering it with semen, as he screamed Lucy's name. It felt like he won a battle.

Mira had later explained to him what he had done and Natsu grew embarrassed rather than upset. He had masturbated to Lucy. Only Lucy would ever make him feel that way. She was his key to getting relief. And that thrilled and terrified the Hell out of him.

That was how he was feeling now.

Natsu continued as he would when they spent their nights on her bed. He would never give up his dominance on her. There were times Lucy started the kiss and intended to straddle him, but he would always end up on top. It was his instincts. He needed to dominate her. It felt right that way. It felt satisfying to see her underneath him, completely bound to his will. However, it still made him shake. He was not mating her. He wanted to "make love" to her, or whatever Mira said. He wanted Lucy to feel until they were one entity. But how the Hell was he supposed to do that?

Lucy wanted to say something when Natsu kissed her neck and trailed kisses along her jawline, but opted to keep her mouth shut. This was all so different than them fooling around in her bedroom. It was because she knew where it would eventually lead. She could feel Natsu tremor slightly and was consoled he was just as nervous as she. But the heat gathering in her stomach told her Natsu's kisses were working. She wanted to cross her legs to release the friction, but she knew Natsu would not let her.

Natsu pulled away from her, a look of uncertainty in his gaze. "Is this…okay?" he asked haltingly.

"'Okay'?" Lucy repeated. That made her smile. "Is the great Natsu scared?" she teased.

Natsu frowned. "Hell no! I just…" A small blush came over Natsu's cheeks. "I just wanted to know if it was okay if I did a little…more?" He wanted to state it, but instead there was the tactful note of question at the end.

Lucy swallowed. She knew it would come soon. "Well, uh… What do we normally do now?" she asked.

"You show me your boobs," Natsu said matter-of-factly. He reached a hand over and squeezed one of Lucy's boobs. He suddenly smiled. "I missed these! They're so squishy!"

"Natsu!" Lucy cried, smacking his hand away. "They aren't squishy!"

"Yes, they are!" Natsu argued back. He took Lucy's hand and put it on her breast. "Feel it!" he encouraged.

"I'm not feeling my own chest!" Lucy snapped.

"Just feel it and tell me it's not squishy," Natsu demanded.

Lucy opened her mouth to protest, but when she saw Natsu's insistent look, she stopped. Why bother arguing when it would get them nowhere? Tentatively, Lucy gave her breast a squeeze. She knew her chest size was large, but never had she defined her breasts as "squishy" as Natsu eloquently put it. She grasped her breast again. Maybe it was a little squishy…

"Lucy?" Lucy looked at Natsu, remembering he was hovering above her. He looked a little in pain, intently staring down at her hand on her chest. His eyes flickered up to her then averted to the side of the bed. "Um, well… It looks kind of nice when you do that," he mentioned.

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "What? This?" She squeezed her chest again for emphasis.

Natsu nodded stiffly. "Yeah."

"Oh," Lucy lamely replied.

It was silent for the next few moments. Natsu would not look at her. His eyes would drift to the hand absently on her chest than back to the side of the bed, pink on his cheeks. Lucy looked down at her hand on her chest. He liked it when she did that? Was that normal? She had never done something like that before when they fooled around. Was he interested in her touching herself? She had no idea!

Lucy cleared her throat. "I think I'm going to take this off," she announced, tugging at her material of the translucent dress.

Natsu looked at her slightly panicked. "Already?"

Lucy looked taken back. She thought through what she said and gave the best shrug she could. "I mean I could wait a little—"

"No!" Natsu blurted. "I mean… No, take it off."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "You sure?" She was unsure herself now that she thought it through. She would be undressing for Natsu. The thought alone made her want to dive under the covers. Natsu nodded, however, and Lucy had no choice but to comply. She tried to sit up, but he was blocking the way. "You mind getting off?" she asked, a little embarrassed.

Natsu shook his head. "No need. Just lift you arms above your head," he instructed.

Lucy did as she was told, and Natsu wanted to cover her in kisses. She looked like she surrendered her body to him. She was his temptress again, her arms away from her body as an indicator that he could do all that he desired. Natsu took the ends of Lucy's net baby doll and began lifting it to her head. Lucy had to sit up slightly for the whole thing to get off her. She felt lightheaded. Natsu was undressing her. And this was different than before. Before, she had a lacy bra on just for him and pair of matching panties. But now she was only with left with her flimsy underwear from Cancer. Where did her Celestial Spirits even get such scandalous garb? Was there a store in the Celestial Realm that sold such things? Were there even _stores_ in the Celestial Realm? Maybe—

Natsu's quick breath brought Lucy back to the present. She was nearly naked underneath Natsu. She was _nearly naked_ underneath Natsu. When she felt Natsu's eyes examine her, she wanted to shove him away and cover herself. What if he did not like what he saw? She did have a few fading scars from previous battles on her body. Would he leave her because her body was not flawless as he wished?

Natsu's dark eyes settled upon her. His eyes were softened, so tender, so loving. "You're so beautiful," he whispered. "You really are."

"Really?" Lucy checked. She suddenly wanted to smack her face. She felt so exposed to Natsu. She wanted him to love every inch of her. She needed him to. But she felt like an immature teen, the teen she used to be. She felt like she needed Natsu's full approval and assurance for her self-conscious self to disappear.

Natsu grinned, amused at her disbelief. "C'mon, Lucy, don't tell me you never thought you were beautiful," he taunted.

Lucy scoffed, turning away from him. "Of course I knew," she muttered. It was a half-truth. She knew she was pretty. Beautiful? Perhaps not. There was always Mira or Erza or Lisanna or any female in the guild that was more beautiful than she.

Natsu did not seem to sense Lucy's struggle. Instead, his grin broadened as he looked at Lucy's chest. He suddenly buried his face in Lucy's chest, making her gasp. " _Natsu!"_

Natsu laughed, rubbing his face in her chest and making her splutter. "Happy was right! These feel like the softest pillow in the world!" he groaned.

Lucy growled when she thought of the blue-furred. She never thought much when Happy could nuzzle her chest. He was a cat after all. But she had not realized that damned feline was telling Natsu his own personal experience with her chest. _Happy, you're so dead!_ Lucy's breathing hitched when Natsu's mouth latched on her left nipple. It was nothing new to her. He had taken interest in her chest before in bed. But she had a bra on back then. With nothing to protect her chest, she was exposed to his kisses and licking and sucking. It felt incredible.

Natsu could feel Lucy's pleasure. It was strange, but her skin would get fierier and she would arch up slightly. Feeling her body so hot drove him mad. He coddled the fire on her skin, fanned it with his breath, and made sure to prod it so it would grow bigger and bigger. He bit a little at her nipple and her back arched more, practically stuffing her boobs in his face. He gently pushed her back down with a little more confidence in his system. With Lucy's responses, it meant she liked what he was doing. He lifted a hand and placed it on her other breast. Cana had told him he should play with both boobs and not just one if he wanted Lucy to feel even more. He gave the breast a firm squeeze.

Lucy gasped and nearly throttled him off the bed. She wanted him to do more. But at the same time, she wanted him to stop making her so sensitive. She felt a pulse of desire in-between her legs and need something to get rid of the tension. It was like an itch she badly needed to scratch. Lucy slid a hand down to her inner thighs the same time Natsu nipped at her. Both actions made her moan his name. She quieted down in embarrassment. All Natsu had done was played with her chest and she was getting needy. Was that okay? Was that right? She did not know.

Natsu stopped in his work to give Lucy a satisfied grin. "I love it when you say my name," he said. "It means all you can think about is me doing this." He gave Lucy's chest a light squeeze.

" _Natsu_ ," Lucy breathed in a whoosh.

"See?" Natsu pointed out. "Just like that! I heard sometimes girls say other guys' names in bed. But, since you're saying my name, you're thinking about me!"

Lucy rolled her eyes at Natsu's logic. "You dummy. Of course I'm thinking about you! You're the only one who gets to touch them," she assured.

Natsu looked at her chest. His dark eyes seemed to grow a shade darker, flashing with the emotion of sinful greed. "That's right," he growled. Softly, he placed kisses along Lucy's chest. She responded in sighs, encouraging him as her hands combed through his head. "Only I get to touch these. No one else. Not Loke. Not Gray. Not that stupid Dan. Just me."

Lucy arched her back. She had no idea how much she could want him to touch him more when he kissed her bare skin. The feeling of his lips dancing over her skin made her want to shiver and moan and demand he do more and do it a little rougher. Unsure if it was okay to speak her wants allowed, she stayed silent. The only outlet she had to cope with her straining emotions was threading her hands through Natsu's hair. "You're so greedy," she sighed, holding back a groan when he lightly nipped at her nipple.

Natsu took her words with nonchalance. "So what?" He suddenly grew uncertain. He looked at her worriedly. "Is that bad?" he asked in a small voice.

Lucy shook her head. "No. It's fine. As long as I'm the only girl that you do this with," she joked.

Natsu smiled. "Of course you are!" he insisted. "Why would I need any other girl to do this with? I have you. What more could I want?"

"Natsu," Lucy whined, a blush on her cheeks. "Now you're just being cheesy."

Natsu did not understand. "How?" he demanded. "It's the truth!"

Lucy shook her head despairingly. "It just sounded so cheesy and romantic. So"—she looked at him with furrowed eyebrows—"weird."

"Hey!" Natsu exclaimed. "You're the weird one in this relationship!"

"How am _I_ weird?" Lucy demanded.

"Because I said so," Natsu answered childishly.

Lucy felt the need to roll her eyes, but decided against it. "Just touch me more," she huffed. She froze at her choice of words and looked mortified. Had she really said that?

Natsu burst out laughing. "Wow, Lucy, I didn't think you could be _this_ demanding! Such a princess!"

Lucy turned her head away with her previous blush darkening. "Oh shut up," she snapped lamely.

Natsu kept laughing, but turned her head back to him with two fingers. He offered her a fanged grin. "You know, being a princess isn't so bad. But I don't think you fit with those snobby princesses waiting for some dumb prince," he informed her.

"Then just what am I?" Lucy asked, wanting to be enlightened.

Natsu shrugged. "Well, maybe you are a princess, but not like those boring ones. You're a total kickass princess! You may have used to live in a castle, but now you fight bad guys and stuff. And yet, you still fall somewhere."

Lucy narrowed her eyes good-naturedly at him. "Yeah, I know," she said dryly. "You reminded me that I fall a lot."

"But that's okay," Natsu assured. "Because the dragon is there to catch you and fight alongside you. So, it's okay that you're a princess, but you're always going to be a badass princess. You're strong and brave."

"You are too," Lucy complimented. A hand went to Natsu' cheek and she stroked it with her thumb. "Can't do this without you. Other half, remember? Our souls are intertwined."

"Exactly," Natsu nodded approvingly. "So, where did you want to be touched?"

Lucy bit her lip nervously. She tried holding Natsu's gaze, but ended up averting it to the side. "Is it okay for me to say?" she asked.

"Well yeah! I want to know what you want." Natsu looked at her, eyes locked onto hers in a serious look. "So, where do you want to be touched?"

Lucy debated if she could lie or tell the truth. She wanted him to touch her everywhere, but she felt that was a bit too much to ask, even for him. "Well," she said slowly, "it feels great with what you're doing with my chest, but…" At this, Lucy looked sheepish and ashamed. "Is it okay if you do it a little…harder?" She held her breath after that. She could not believe she confessed it! The demand felt so dirty, like the stuff she caught Erza reading from time to time, but she needed it.

Natsu looked at her quizzically. "'Harder'," he repeated, testing the word out on his tongue. He lifted a hand and grabbed one of her boobs. "You mean like this?" he asked. He squeezed her breast roughly, studying her face all the while.

Lucy groaned loudly and felt the tension between her legs worsen. It was aching, but enjoyable. It was addictive. She wanted more. She nodded. "Yeah, like that."

Natsu nodded and squeeze her breast again. His lips latched onto the other breast harder. She gasped when she felt his tongue experimentally swirling around her nipple, shooting sparks off her body. They had never done that when they were fooling around. Feeling his tongue dance around her nipple while his hand roughly kneaded her other breast was thrilling. Lucy sighed his name, arching her back. She needed more. She wanted more. It was like she could never get enough! But she needed to release tension between her legs.

Lucy slipped a hand down to her inner thighs once again, trying to focus as Natsu made her body warmer and lighter. When she touched her inner thighs, she moaned louder. Putting pressure on the area felt so good! She worked her hand up to find herself and felt her flimsy underwear getting wet. Hesitantly, she touched herself and her hips bucked a little. Even with her panties as a barrier, the pleasure shooting through her was too much. It was just too much!

Natsu's mouth captured her own roughly. He learned from Laxus he should try and keep Lucy on her toes and never just stick to one area to pleasure her. He had found all her hidden points, her weaknesses, what would make her shiver and become frantic for him, during their passionate nights. He could feel instincts driving him. His draconic instincts wanted to fully mate her. His instincts whispered to claim her as his own. But tonight, Lucy was his wife and he would make this night memorable for the both of them. He swallowed her moans as he continued to knead her chest. Those boobs were like pillows honestly. It was amusing to see the harder he grabbed them, the more he got out of her. Maybe Cana's talk about being rough was worth it.

Natsu let go of her lips, but his lips met with her neck. He could feel every heave of Lucy's chest, every quickened breath she took. It was oddly soothing for him. To hear, to feel, to see, to know she was feeling anxious, yet alive under his touch was pacifying. He let a hand off one of her boobs and allowed it to wander over her stomach. Lucy whimpered his name as his fingertips danced along her skin. It was fun to play with her skin. The first time they fooled around, he had taken the liberty of exploring her body. He learned her right side was prone to getting her excited easier than her left. He learned spelling her name lightly on her stomach would make her breathe his name like a weeping saint praying to their God. He learned as he neared her panties, she would shiver and buck her hips. It was so fascinating to him to see all that Lucy could do under his touch. It made him happy he could make her feel that way.

His hand trailed down her stomach and to her panties when he felt another hand already there. He broke off from his kissing to look down. There was his hand and Lucy's hand. But Lucy's hand was on herself, rubbing herself. Natsu grinned and looked back up to Lucy, who was caught red-handed. "And you say I'm impatient," he teased.

Lucy wanted to bury herself in the mattress. He caught her! That was not the plan! "I'm sorry," she tried to apologize.

Natsu cut her off. "Don't say 'sorry'," he told her. "It's okay. Now I know how I really make you feel when I do this." His mouth latched on onto her breast and gave her nipple a quick nip. Lucy groaned and he pulled away, looking down to see Lucy rubbing herself again. He looked at her smugly. "See?"

Lucy retracted her hand, hot with shame, and scowled at him. "I hate it when you're such a know-it-all," she grumbled.

Natsu grinned. "Of course you do," he humored. His eyes suddenly averted to the side and he swallowed thickly, his nerves getting to him. "But, uh… I was wondering… I've never seen girls do…you know… _that_ ," he said awkwardly.

Lucy looked at him in a mixture of curiosity and embarrassment. It appeased her he had never walked in on another girl trying to relieve herself of her stress, but it made her mortified still he caught her.

"So," Natsu drawled, "is it okay if you…you know…do it again?"

That made Lucy freeze. She stared at him wide-eyed. Had he said what she thought she heard? " _What?_ " she nearly screeched.

Natsu winced at her volume. "I've just never seen a girl do that!" he tried to explain in a flurry of words. "I was just wondering if you'd do it, so I could watch because I only thought guys did it!"

"You want me to—…to—…" Lucy could not bring herself to say the words. The request her made drastically stunned her. She had never heard of a man ask a woman that before. Touching herself in private still made her self-conscious. She felt ashamed for not being able to control her desire and always kept it a secret. But for Natsu to want to see her like that? She looked at him carefully. "Is that what you want?" she asked.

"I mean you don't have t—"

"Is that what you want?" Lucy interrupted.

Natsu stared at Lucy for a few moments before he hung his head in shame and nodded. He screwed up again. His request sounded far too much and he knew Lucy was shocked for him asking. But seeing Lucy touch herself was strangely enticing to him. How weird was that? He wanted to bury his head in the mattress. Maybe he should not have opened his mouth.

Lucy took a few seconds to compose herself. She still felt the tension in her legs and the wetness was slightly uncomfortable, but she had dealt with it enough to feel comfortable with it. If Natsu really wanted this… "Okay," she agreed.

Natsu looked at her in surprise. "Really?"

Lucy nodded. "You might want to get off me," she warned.

Natsu consented and backed off her. Lucy scooted away from him until she hit the headboard and felt a rush of cold and slight stickiness. She had sweated a little, but it dried, leaving her in a state of bearable stickiness. She looked down to see her nipples perked. Then she remembered how she was exposed. She was about to show Natsu how she touched herself. Touching oneself was something you did in private. It was the dirty little secret you kept from your friends and family. It was what you did when you were terribly in need and no one was there to help you release it. And yet Natsu wanted to see her do it.

Lucy looked over to him. He was sitting on the other side of the bed. His eyes went from her to her lips to her chest and then lowered onto her hand. He waited patiently for her to begin like a student awaiting his lesson. Lucy could feel the ache return with Natsu staring at her so intensely, so lustfully. Nervous, Lucy guided her hand against her panties and began to rub herself. She groaned a little, but was too shy to go any louder. Not with Natsu staring at her. Her body tingled from her movements. She could feel her head getting lightheaded already as she excited herself. Images of her and Natsu flitted through her mind. His fingers had done what she was doing to herself. It was uncomfortable the first time and perhaps too forced, but he eventually learned how to hit the right places, how to curve his fingers just the way her body needed, how to thrust his fingers into her, how to lick her and at what speed. He knew the times to tease her, the times to go slow, and the times when she needed him fast and hot. Those haute memories added to her pleasure. She groaned a little louder, nearly forgetting Natsu was hungrily watching her.

Lucy scooted farther on the board and spread her legs. She rubbed herself faster. The ache needed more and more attention. It was not just satisfied with her rubbing.

"Touch you chest," Natsu's voice commanded somewhere. Her mind was too hazy to understand his exact location. However, Lucy obeyed and squeezed her chest, arching her back in the process. So good! But she need more.

Warm hands slid onto her thighs, eliciting a strangled moan from her. The warmth spread through her body, her skin becoming as fragile was Veronese glass. She felt so vulnerable and breakable. And yet she demanded she needed everything to be done faster, rougher. The hands took her panties and slid them away from her, sliding them down her legs and off her entirely. She instantly allowed her fingers to explore inside her and she bucked a little. God, this is what she needed! The memories of Natsu taunting her with his fingers, slowly entering her only to pull out and leave her bucking her hips to get him back plagued her mind.

"Natsu," Lucy gasped.

That was all it took for Natsu to act.

Watching her rub herself was mesmerizing. It was way better than touching himself. Seeing her pleasure herself made his mind go blank with lust. He could remember all those times he buried his head between those legs. All those times she would need more friction, but he would go slowly, dragging it out until she could not take it. Her smell—oh, her smell!—became intoxicating. Lucy's smell was more than just addictive. The smell triggered his instincts again, only they came in pulsating urges. The beastly part of him was ready to mate her, but the human part of him merely wanted to replace her hand with his. He grew jealous of her fingers. He wanted to be the one to make her groan, not herself! When he slipped her panties off and she began to finger herself, Natsu had licked his lips. It was like unwrapping a present for him. But after she said his name, it was time for him to be in-between her legs.

Natsu took out her fingers and gave them quick licks of the tongue. "I don't want you to use these again," he said gruffly.

Lucy panted, looking at him with unfocused eyes. "Why?" she questioned, breathless.

"Because I'm the only one allowed to make you feel this way. I won't even let you make yourself feel this good," Natsu growled. He caught Lucy attempting to sneak her other hand down and easily batted it away. " _No_ ," he snarled. "Just me. You're not allowed to do this to yourself again."

"You…can't tell me what to do," Lucy fought back. She felt irritated he stopped her. She needed to finger herself. The urges of desire demanded she needed to touch herself. But seeing Natsu so jealous of her own hands was intriguing and frightening at the same time. It was exciting to see him so envious, yet it scared her he was just that. Lucy tried to sneak her hand down again, but Natsu batted it away again with a growl. "Natsu, _please_ ," she begged.

"You just said the magic word." Natsu released her hand. His eyes zoned in on her. The patch of thin blonde hair glistening with her wetness satisfied him. Only he would ever see it. It made him swell with pride. No man—nor Lucy's hands—would ever see or touch her. It was only he. He took his index finger and pushed into her, deliberately making it slow to punish her for touching herself all this time. His eyes flickered back to her face. She threw her head back and gripped the already messy sheets.

" _Natsu_ ," Lucy breathed in salacious need.

Natsu grinned. "That's better," he approved. He pulled away from her, however. Lucy whined, bucking her hips, but he withdrew his hand.

Lucy looked at Natsu, frustrated and pleading. She looked about ready to cry with her body trembling. "Natsu," she begged.

"Tell me something, will you? Which is better: your hand or mine?" Natsu demanded to know. He needed her to say him. If she thought for a second her fingers were better than his, he would have to sway her thinking by any means possible, even if that meant spending hours pleasing her until she forgot her name.

"Natsu," Lucy groaned.

"I want to know," Natsu said with a slight juvenile attitude. "Which is better?"

"You!" Lucy exclaimed. "It's you, all right?"

Natsu's grin broadened. "Much better." He slid his index finger inside her once more, taking his time. Lucy groaned at this, but he kept his pace. "C'mon, Lucy, you say I go too fast? Who's calling black a kettle?"

"You said it wrong, idiot," Lucy tried to scold, but the sensation of Natsu made her words come out in a groan.

Natsu shrugged. "Not important anyways." He pushed a little farther before he began to pull out. "You know, I wonder what's better: tongue or fingers?" he pondered as he nearly pulled out completely. His finger teased her entered, rubbing her a little.

Lucy bucked her hips again and her chocolate eyes were filled to the brim in want. "Natsu," she warned. Natsu ignored her and pulled out his finger. Slowly, the two fingers entered her. He felt Lucy shiver at him. "I hate you," she muttered.

Natsu grinned at that. "No you don't," he decided. "You're just mad I'm not going fast. So what if I did this?" He pulled out the fingers a little quicker and pushed them in, creating rhythmal thrusting. Lucy cried his name. "Is that better?" he wondered. She nodded. "And what if I did this?" Still keeping up his thrusting, Natsu's mouth went straight to Lucy chest. His tongue swirled around one of her nipples.

Lucy bucked her hips a little more. She wanted Natsu to get off her, but she wanted him to continue. She wanted him to go faster. But going slow also seemed tempting. It was too confusing! She brought up a hand to massage through Natsu's scalp to keep her rooted, but it did not work. She felt herself getting light-headed even more.

Natsu increased his thrusting speed as he switched breasts. He hummed against her and felt her shiver. Her grip on his hair tightened, but he did not mind. It felt good to him. He curled his fingers a little and used his magic to heat his hands up a little.

"Natsu!" Lucy gasped in surprise.

One of many tricks only Natsu could do to her. It was surprisingly Gajeel who recommended Natsu incorporate his magic into giving Lucy the ultimate pleasure. Natsu was tentative at first, fearing he could burn Lucy, but he quickly learned heating up parts of his body would not burn her, but allow her to give herself to him more. She was desperate for him, and he reveled in that. He wanted her to need him. He wanted her to demand he touch her. He wanted her to think without him, she would no longer be able to have this pleasure. Those thoughts confused Natsu. Were those his draconic instincts or his human ones? He had no idea. He just knew having Lucy want him appealed to him.

Natsu let go of Lucy's nipple and his kissed up her chest, up her neck, and back on her mouth as he thrusted his fingers into her. She grabbed on his shoulders, crying out to him against his lips. Natsu could feel her tightening on his fingers and her scent mixed with her perspiration choked him. He knew those signs. He loved those signs. He craved those signs. Her breathing became erratic and her cries frantic. He could feel everything building up inside her. It was wonderful!

"Don't you dare slow down!" Lucy exclaimed between kisses and pants.

Natsu grinned against her lips. "'Slow down'?" he echoed. He slowly his fingers a little bit, earning a groan from Lucy. "Like that?"

"I will touch myself if you do," Lucy threatened.

Natsu laughed. "Like I'd let you do that." However, he sped up his thrusts. He knew Lucy was not full of empty threats and he would not let her resort to touching herself again. Lucy's muffled cries pleased him. She would never go back to touching herself after this. He curled his fingers a little more and went at a rougher speed. She tightened a little more on him.

Lucy broke away from Natsu to let out a scream. Natsu did not even wince at the noise. He relished it. Lucy felt like she had just completed a mission worth a lot of jewel and Natsu was hugging her. That amount of warmth and happiness flooded her body. Sweat clung to her as she sunk into relief, but she did not care. Natsu felt her orgasm and merely grinned. He looked down at his hand to see her spray fluid all over his hand. He was impressed. The first time Lucy ever did that was in their sixth month of their boyfriend-girlfriend relationship. Natsu bluntly feared she pissed in his hands, but remembered something Loke told him about if he hit Lucy in all the right places she would squirt for him, and to get a girl to squirt was a proud accomplishment.

"Do your fingers make your squirt, Lucy?" Natsu wondered. He slowly removed his fingers for her to inspect the mess on his hands. He lapped it up like a canine, licking between his fingers as his studied Lucy attempting to recover. Her fluid drove him crazy. It taste strong with saccharinity. There was slight bitterness in it too. It reminded him of lemonade. Lemonade was strong tasting as well as sweet, but it purposely added bitterness to make it even sweeter. It was delicious.

"Shut up," Lucy demanded in a pant. Her body felt too sensitive for her to move properly, and her mind was still a little delirious from her orgasm. She felt some exhaustion in her bones, but after spending years with him, she gained stamina to go on. Her chest felt the most sensitive, tingling almost like they were itchy. She already missed Natsu's fingers and felt cold without them.

Natsu watched her chest move with each breath. It was enticing to see them bounce. He was tempted to touch them. He wanted to bite them and leave little love bites all over her flesh. She still looked too pure in his eyes. He had to restrain himself several times from biting her flesh and leaving a mark declaring he was there. He could not mark her, not yet. He had to wait. He would force himself to wait.

Lucy floated back down from her orgasmic high and looked over at Natsu. She frowned. He was still in his pants and white shirt while she was naked and at his will. How unfair. "Take off your clothes," she demanded.

Natsu arched an eyebrow. "What?"

"Take them off," Lucy restated. "I'm here, naked, and you still have clothes. Not fair! So I want them off."

Natsu laughed. "Can you help me?" he requested.

Lucy nodded and crawled over to him, touching her chest a little. Natsu slightly growled as she approached and she rolled her eyes. "My chest is sensitive," she explained. "Now sit while I get your buttons."

Natsu sat still as Lucy sat in front of him. Her hands expertly worked his buttons. She smiled faintly. Somehow, she knew Natsu must have had Mira's help getting the shirt on due to him not being patient enough to button his shirt. He would usually fumble his fingers and complain that he would wear his normal attire since it was easier to put on. She faltered in unbuttoning the third button down of Natsu's shirt when his hands groped her chest. She looked at Natsu, but his eyes were obsessively on her chest. He palmed her nipples, making her gasp and completely fumble with the buttons.

"Don't mind me," Natsu said.

"It's hard to," Lucy muttered as she tried to focus on undoing his buttons. He suddenly pinched her nipples and she groaned. "Natsu," she tried to stop.

Natsu ignored her as he dipped down and kissed her. Lucy instantly responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him closer. Natsu kissed her harder, pushing her back down on the bed. Lucy landed softly on the mattress, allowing him to control the kiss. The familiar pool of desire came to her once more and she bucked her hips.

"Patience," Natsu chided, using the same scolding tone Lucy used on him.

Lucy sighed against his lips. She wanted him to be naked with her. It was unfair. But the way he was massaging her chest made her want him to stay with her. An idea came to her. She grinned as his mouth moved to her jawline. "I have a challenge for you," she announced.

Natsu continued what he was doing, almost as if he were ignoring her words. "Yeah?"

Lucy hummed. "I know you don't want me touching myself—"

" _My job_ ," Natsu suddenly snarled.

"—but," Lucy continued, "let's make this into a challenge. I get to touch myself while you take off your clothes and you can't burn them. Faster you take off your clothes, the less I can touch myself."

Natsu's face hovered above her, amused and interested in her challenge. "Oh yeah? What's in it for you?" he asked as he brushed his lips against hers.

"If it take you longer than thirty seconds to get your clothes off without damaging them, then you get to watch me and no touching," Lucy said.

Natsu chuckled. "Playing dirty. I see now. And what's in it for me?" he asked.

"Well," Lucy purred, suddenly growing bolder, "tell me what you want."

Natsu pulled her into a sweet, slow kiss. This was all a part of the game. It was what made foreplay more enjoyable. Some people preferred costumes to make the dirty game of arousal even more enjoyable—and Natsu had a feeling Lucy had more of those see-through dresses—and others played simple games. It was the prospect of triumphing over a challenge that made it all the more exciting. And Lucy knew Natsu would never back down from a fight he felt he could not win.

Natsu released her and moved his lips to her ear. He knew exactly what he wanted. "Tomorrow, let me do something special for you," he bargained. He pulled away to see a look of confusion on Lucy's face. He wanted to sigh. He expected her to be confused. "Just let me do something special for you tomorrow when I win," he said.

" _If_ you win," Lucy corrected.

"Nope. _When_ ," Natsu grinned.

Lucy grinned back. "All right." She put a hand on his chest and Natsu took the cue to sit up. He looked at Lucy in her naked glory and fought the urge to dive between her legs again. It was so tempting. He was itching to use his mouth to get her to scream and maybe squirt. He wanted to use his tongue to stab her, thrust into her. He wanted to kiss those wet lips of hers. He licked his lips.

Lucy's hands blocked his view and Natsu looked up to see her smirking naughtily at him. "Sorry, Mister Dragneel, but no dessert until after you finished," she joked.

Natsu pouted. "But I'm hungry," he whined.

Lucy rolled her eyes playfully at him and pushed him off the bed with her foot. Natsu got off the bed and turned to meet her eyes. He titled his chin up a little. "Ready," he began slowly.

Lucy tilted her chin defiantly too. "Set…"

"Go!" the two of them announced.

Natsu undid his pants first, easily able to shimmy them down his legs and kick them off. Lucy rubbed herself furiously, groaning out Natsu's name. He lost focus for a second when he heard his name, but carried on. He saved his underwear for last, but tried to work his buttons. He cursed softly as he began to fumble with taking them off. It was hard work. His hands were big and the buttons would not cooperate.

Lucy moaned even louder when she could feel those same urges for someone to reliever her of her ache. She used her wetness as lubricant before slipping a finger inside herself. She wasted no time thrusting her finger. "Natsu!" she exclaimed. "Twenty more seconds!"

Natsu growled under his breath, "You better not come without me, Lucy."

Lucy spread her legs a little wider, and Natsu wanted to drop what he was doing and crawl over to her. Seeing her touch herself was agonizing, punishing. It was some sort of abuse to not let him be the one to please her. Her other hand went to her chest and she pinched her nipple. "Oh God, Natsu," she moaned.

Natsu knew what she was doing. She was toying with him. He worked the buttons with a fiercer attitude, yet careful not to rip them. He would win. He was going to win. He undid the buttons until he was in the middle of his shirt.

"Fifteen second— _Oh!_ " Lucy gasped again. "Hurry up, Natsu!"

Natsu threw her a grin. "I thought you wanted me to lose?" he taunted.

"I n-need yo— _Ah!_ " Lucy moaned again.

Natsu tried to work faster. He felt his heart soar. Lucy wanted him to finish her. She wanted his fingers rather than hers. And she would get it. He got down to the last few buttons, but they were beginning to fight against him. "Damn it!" he cursed.

"T-Ten more," Lucy tried to say. Her pants became more rapid and she could feel the overwhelming euphoria consume her.

Natsu gritted his teeth. Shit. He knew what was happening when her smell made him want to burn off his clothes and claim her. "Damn buttons," he muttered as he nearly ripped the last button off. He shirked off his shirt in victory and raced over to the bed. He crawled between her legs and gently stopped her movements. He helped Lucy withdraw her finger, but she seemed reluctant.

"Natsu," she pleaded.

Natsu did not comfort her. He placed her hand away from her and buried his face between her legs. He lapped at her inner thighs, giving her little nips. She felt her thighs tremble and her hips buck, so he placed his hands on her legs to sit her down. As he grew closer and closer, Lucy's intoxicating aroma made him growl. What a delicious smell! He looked at her with eyes darkened with animalistic hunger. He licked his lips.

Lucy's body jerked and she let out a muted screech when Natsu's mouth began to devour her. She was already sensitive from her own touches and his made her body explode into the Heavens. He kissed her wet lips, her cry satisfying. His tongue swirled around her clit, stabbing it, sucking it. Lucy jolted with each movement, and Natsu held her down. But she could not help it. It just felt so good to have his tongue on her again. He had gradually learned what to do and not to do with his tongue as he learned how to orally please her. He got better fast, and Lucy always showed her appreciation through her breathy moans. She would wake in the throes of an orgasm to see his head between her legs at times when Natsu claimed she was "being impossible getting up".

"N-Natsu," she breathed. She felt it again—the insane pressure. "The storm before the calm" as Erza once said, reversing the actual phrase. She could not hold it anymore. She could tell Natsu sensed something would happen for he hummed as he added a firm suck, the vibrations pushing her over the edge. " _Natsu!_ " she shouted.

Natsu felt smug about the matter as Lucy fell limp, high off her happiness. She had asked—no, she had begged for him over herself. How great was that? He felt like he won against Acnologia all over again. Making Lucy demand him felt like a victory in its own right. He watched as she came down from her high. Even though sweat matted her hair, he reached up and petted her golden locks. How he loved her hair. It reminded him of sunrays and bananas and a golden sunset. Lucy was beautiful no matter what state she was in. She would always be beautiful.

Lucy looked at him with refocused eyes and gave him a faint smirk. "I win," she declared.

Natsu raised an eyebrow. "I don't think so." Lucy pointed down at him and he followed her line of vision. He cursed. He forgot to slip off his boxers!

"I'll just help you get them off."

Natsu looked at her in confusion. "Why? I can just do it myself."

Lucy gave him a blank stare. "Natsu," she said slowly, "remember when you took off my underwear? I want to take your underwear off for the same reasons."

Natsu "oh"ed in realization. He felt Lucy crawl on top of him. He allowed her to push him down. It was only fair. Even though his instincts wanted him to push her on her back to show his dominance, he knew Lucy had the right to play with him too.

Lucy felt empowered as Natsu lay underneath her. She was always excited when he was on top and loved that possessive side of him. But to be looking down upon it, it made her get a dark thrill. She was in charge. He had to submit to her whims. Lucy lowered her head to give him a saccharine kiss on the mouth. Natsu returned it, wrapping his arms around her waist. His hands explored her bare back. He remembered the light dip that was near her waist on her left side. He remembered how running fingers over her spine would make her weak to him. It was calming to feel her skin underneath his hands again. It was an assurance that she was there with him, not just a dirty fantasy he was having in his bathroom as he stroked himself.

Lucy allowed her hand to roam Natsu's chest tantalizingly. She was always appreciative towards his built body. He lived to be fit and as did she. She remembered the day she saw him in his vest and balloon pants. He looked a little dorky to her, but his stomach told her other wise. As the years progressed, his muscles became firmer and defined. Women could dream about his body all-day long, but once they met him they were either turned off by his obnoxious behavior or turned off by his fighting habits. Only Lucy got the opportunity to love everything about him. Only she got the chance to feel each muscle, to trace the outline with her fingers. She shivered as Natsu ran a hand delicately over her spine and kissed him even slower. Her hand slipped to his V-line, trailing it.

Natsu groaned. "Lucy," he hissed softly.

Lucy laughed. "Sorry, sorry. No teasing," she promised.

Natsu sighed. He had tried to forget about his own desires during his intimacy with Lucy, but it was hard. The day before the wedding, Natsu had to sneak off to the master bath and jerk off due to his thoughts consumed about Lucy and him on their honeymoon. Once they had arrived on Tenrou Island, his other head had done most of the talking for him. He grew harder, but tried to ignore it. But it was tender now. His cock twitched when Lucy had played around his V-line. As much as he forbade Lucy from touching herself, he wanted to touch himself. He needed to. Seeing Lucy on top of him, feeling her, kissing her, it all made him want to do as he used to when he was aroused and sneak off to a quiet place to use his hands for pleasure.

Lucy tugged down Natsu's boxers. She never broke their kiss, but when Lucy tugged farther and felt something hit her thigh, she broke the kiss to look down. There was Natsu. An erection to Lucy looked uncomfortable. The organ was throbbing, its flared head a blaring red. It was intriguing to see it and Lucy wanted to touch it. She had done so many times. But a bout of nervousness hit her. It was like when she first touched him. She had used a little too much force, making him yelp, and accidently grazed him with her teeth. It took a lot of heavy petting and him with his head between her legs for him to forgive her. But she was experienced at this, or at least with him. She knew how to make him shiver, how to make his cock twitch, how to tease him, how to please him. But why was she so nervous?

"Natsu," Lucy called hesitantly. "Mind sitting on the edge of the bed?"

"Sure," Natsu said casually. Lucy crawled off him, looking down at her lap, as Natsu kicked his boxers off, leaving him exposed to her. He had no shame when it came to his body. Growing up in Fairy Tail, you really could not have any shame being naked. But he knew Lucy was always sensitive about her nudity. It took a little before she was comfortable enough for her to be half-naked around him, let alone fully naked. He wanted to laugh at the little blush that appeared on her cheeks when she glanced at his erection. Silly Lucy.

Natsu sat on the edge of the bed, allowing Lucy full access to his body. He winced when his balls had touched the bed. They were fragile in this state, just like his length. It could cause him so much pleasure, but it was what made him vulnerable. His growing needs made him weak, yet strong.

Lucy shuffled over to him and got off the bed. She stood in front of him, and he swept his gaze over her body with enough to desire to make her quiver. She got down on her knees in front of him and looked up at him, her nerves setting her on edge. She wrung her hands together. Why was she still so nervous?

"Lucy? If you don't want to you don't have to, you know," Natsu said softly, sensing Lucy tension. "I don't want you uncomfortable."

Lucy shook her head. "No, it's fine. I can do this. I have before, remember?" she reminded, sending him a cheeky grin.

Natsu grinned right back. "Yup! You're amazing at it too."

That was just the confidence booster Lucy needed. Determined, Lucy gently cradled him in her hands. She placed soft caresses along him, from his tip to his testicles and back. Natsu fluttered his eyes shut in pleasure as Lucy's kisses felt like fire on him. And he was a Fire Dragon Slayer! Only Lucy could match his own heat with the heat of her kisses. Lucy paid attention to the testicles. She learned from Cana about paying attention to the testicles. She lightly sucked on them, knocking the wind out of Natsu.

"Lucy," Natsu moaned hoarsely.

Lucy ignored his call for her and began to use her tongue to gently lap around his length. Natsu felt he was about to collapse on the bed. She was skilled with her tongue! He moaned loudly and shivered when her tongue slid over his slit. A large, calloused hand went to her hair, stroking her to calm himself down. But of course, she decided to do something to excite him: she popped him in his mouth. Lucy, at first, was not able to put all of him in his mouth and that made him a little proud that he was that big. But she grew to learn that even if she could not pleasure all of him with her mouth, she could pleasure the rest of him with her hands.

Lucy hummed and her eyes flickered up to Natsu's. She held his gaze as she licked him, stroking what she could not fit into her mouth. Natsu felt he would burst. The added vibration to her mouth and her gentle hands making him tingle made him want to thrust into her mouth and let go of what he was holding back. But he knew he could not. Desperately, he moved a hand to squeeze himself so he would not come in her mouth.

Lucy's eyes twinkled with amusement. She slowly relinquished him from her mouth with a wet _pop_ and grinned up at him. "Getting a little fired up, Natsu?" she purred teasingly.

Natsu panted and kept his grip on himself. He could feel his perspiration slowly inching down his forehead and matting his already wild hair. He was burning up. He needed release. "Lucy," he said after uneven breaths, "I need to…" He trailed off, uncertain how he could say it. He needed to be inside her. He needed her.

Lucy gulped and nodded, suddenly nervous all over again. This was it. This was what she had been saving herself for. But how would it turn out, she had no idea. And that worried her. Mira told her she felt no pain the first time while Juvia told her she bled a little and there was pain in the beginning. Would it be painful for her too? She knew Natsu would never hurt her, but would losing her virginity still be painful?

Lucy crawled back on the bed and laid herself out for Natsu. She was completely exposed to him, vulnerable to anything he wanted to do with her. In their romance in the bedroom, they had never proceeded to get this far. Natsu may have thrusted into her panties before she took him and helped him ride out his release with her mouth, but that was the only time. There had never been a time of full nudity or when they were aware sex was on the table. This would be it: the first time for both of them.

Natsu hesitantly crawled on top of her. However, he could not resist kissing her thighs. She whimpered his name as he approached her sex. He gave her a firm kiss there too with a lick, making Lucy gasp and stars explode in her eyes. He inspected her and looked back down at himself. He was supposed to fit inside her? But he was so big and she was so small! Gajeel stated to relax the first time and Gray advised that a woman's sex was a mystery for it could somehow accommodate to their size. He was assured a little by their advice due to experience, but it made him worry. How would he know where to go? On the outside, it looked simple putting himself inside her. But now that he was there, he had no clue on how to get it in and know where to go. Natsu busied himself with crawling on top of her and leaving kisses on her body as he climbed onto her.

Lucy shivered, grabbing onto his hair as she breathed his name. " _Natsu_."

Natsu's lips made it back to Lucy's chest. He gave each nipple a lick, a flick, and then a firm suck. Lucy bucked her hips a little, grazing his length, and he tried to control himself by pressing her back down on the bed. He infatuated himself in peppering her skin with kisses until he hovered over her face. His anxiety was reflected in Lucy's eyes. It comforted him she was just as nervous as he. They were so new at this. This was nothing like licking her dry or her sucking him dry. They could no longer pleasure themselves. They could only pleasure each other.

"Lucy?" Natsu began tentatively. "Are you—…? Are you ready?"

Lucy swallowed thickly and nodded. "Yeah," she said softly.

Natsu frowned at her. "You're shaking," he pointed out.

"You too," Lucy shot back. "I want to do this with you, Natsu. I'm ready."

Natsu nodded rather than verbally answering her. He racked his brain for any ideas on how to start. Perhaps kissing her would be best. He lowered his lips on hers and indulged her in a deep kiss. Lucy moaned and sunk into the kiss. Both of them could feel the growing heated between them. They needed this. They wanted this. They would do this together.

Natsu broke away from the kiss and prepared himself. He had an estimate on where to aim, but he was still nervous about trying for the first time. Hesitantly, he rolled his hips forward. He ended up poking her inner thigh. He cursed, embarrassed he missed.

Lucy caressed his cheek with her hand and looked at him with slightly frightened, but more so soft eyes. "Don't be upset, okay? It's all right. The first time isn't perfect," she informed him.

Natsu sighed, kissing her quickly. "I know," was all he told her. He built up his courage and tried again, slowly rolling his hips forward. He felt that he was nearing her, but his aim was perhaps a little less than a centimeter off. He pulled back and adjusted himself once more. Rolling himself forward, he found he sunk into a hole that started to expand around him.

Lucy's breathing hitched and she winced. He was so big! It hurt to stretch that far, but from her experience with his fingers, it did not hurt her too much.

Natsu looked back up at Lucy's face to make sure he had not hurt her. She gave him a sure smile as if telling him to continue. He rolled his hips more and found himself sinking into an abyss of moistness and heat. There was a not too much resistance. Levy had informed him they could use those special "lubricants" to make it easier on Lucy, but with Lucy already being wet, it provided the perfect amount of lubricant for him to make a smooth entrance. Natsu groaned along with Lucy as he pressed more into her. Now he understood the phrase "God, she's so tight!" because that was what Lucy was. He felt a little bit of himself come inside her and bit back a profanity. No, he needed to save himself. He did not want to lose himself this early in their first time.

Natsu finally felt something blocking him and he knew. He saw fear flash into Lucy's face. He reached up a hand to stroke her face and kiss her face. "I have to," he murmured to her.

"I know," Lucy sniffed back.

Natsu kissed her nose and pulled his face away a little to take in her own. He hated the fear he saw in her eyes. And it was because of him. "I don't want to hurt you," he whispered. "I'm sorry." Without waiting for her acceptance to his apology, Natsu pulled away a little then snapped his hips a little rougher. Lucy yelped and Natsu sensed something break inside her as he went further into her. A few tears gathered into the corner of Lucy's eyes, but he kissed them away, whispering, "I'm sorry" with each feathery caress. In effort to help her, Natsu began to withdraw.

He froze.

He smelled her blood.

It was faint so it was obvious not much had been shed, but it was there. He felt choked up. "No," he whispered. "Did I—…? I made you bleed?"

Lucy sniffed, blinking back tears. "Natsu, it's okay—"

"I hurt you more than I thought," Natsu interrupted, feeling dread stir inside him. "Oh my God. Lucy—!"

Lucy moved her head up to give him a kiss to silence him. When he returned it after a second, she pulled away and looked at him, trying to rub away the tears in her eyes. "It's okay," she assured. "Juvia said this could happen. It's normal."

Natsu regarded Lucy in utter disbelief. It was "normal" for a guy to hurt a girl when stealing her virginity. That was "normal"? It was okay that Lucy was bleeding? "You are a total weirdo," he said. "That is so _not_ normal. That's weird, even for you."

"I know, but it's okay," Lucy said. "Just—… Just give me a moment, okay?"

Natsu consented easily. He would give her all the time she needed. He understood she needed to adjust to the pain. He felt guilt gnaw at his mind. He made her bleed. Her hurt her after promising he never would. Even though she was calm about it, it did not sit too well with Natsu. He would always feel prickling guilt for their first time hurting her.

"Natsu," Lucy breathed, "can you…start moving?"

Natsu gazed back at her, uncertain. "You sure?"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. Start moving."

Natsu did as he was told. He kept it gentle and tried to make it was unproblematic as possible. He withdrew a little, then pushed in farther than before. His heart tore when he saw Lucy cringe in pain, but his mind was beginning to go numb with desire. His draconic instincts wanted to mate her more than the human side wanted to make love to her. He wanted to consider Lucy's feelings—in the back of his mind, he was still wallowing in guilt and self-loathing that she had been in pain because of him—but his own building pleasure clawed for a release. He withdrew a little again, but snapped his hips, shoving himself into her. Lucy jolted, letting out a cry. However, she sounded more delighted than in pain. Natsu loved it. Going that hard made the fire burning inside him increase. And he wanted more.

Natsu continued the same action: withdrawing a little, then snapping his hips and going into her farther. The pain had vanished from Lucy's face and bliss replaced it. She looked ravishing underneath him, hair splayed out and sweat clinging to her brow. She moved her head to kiss his neck and jawline, making him growl and snap his hips harder. His dragon instincts were taking over. He needed to release and soon.

Natsu felt his body plunging into her faster, jerking her body with each slam. She whimpered and moaned as she kissed his skin. Those caresses egged him to go faster. He frantically searched for release of the fire growing inside him to the point when he was jackhammering her.

" _Natsu!_ " Lucy breathed, sounding strangled.

Natsu growled at his name and slammed into her to punish her for arousing him. He snapped his hips harder to the point where Lucy's hands were on his shoulders, bracing herself for his bruising force. What others may think he was doing was downright primal and was breaking her, Lucy felt only euphoric pleasure with each thrust and began to meet him through, rolling with each hard slam.

"I love you so much," Natsu said through gritted teeth. He slammed into her. "You're my Lucy." Lucy cried louder at his next slam.

"I love you too, Natsu," Lucy said, moaning again at his rough thrust into her.

Natsu could not take it anymore. When he used his hands, stroking off would have taken a bit longer. But he was inside Lucy, his North Star, his wife, his mate. Feeling her clench around him, hearing her moan his name, feeling those hot kisses, knowing he was inside her, her heat, her moistness, her warmth, made everything so much better. But she was just too tight and he…he could not control himself anymore!

Natsu let out a loud heave of air then suddenly felt as all his strength had left him. He completely exploded. It was exhilarating and faintly uncomfortable to allow all that pressure to leave him. He was frozen on top of Lucy as he went through the waves of his orgasm. He knew nothing could make him move. If Erza came at him with her sharpest sword, he would not be able to dodge. If Gray tempted him with a fight by insulting him, he would not move. His body felt like the property of glass: fragile and would break if you pushed it. He was too wrapped up in his release.

Lucy felt the pressure building inside her and tensed up before sighing. She felt an overwhelming warm feeling in her stomach grow as he spluttered inside her. It felt _wonderful_. She was the first Natsu would ever do this to and was the last. Stickiness leaked out of Lucy and onto her thighs. It was slightly uncomfortable due to the warm and gluey feeling, but it was something she could put up with. She stared at the ceiling in complete bliss as Natsu remained on top.

It felt like an hour before Natsu softened up inside her. When he felt his limbs again, he still felt weakened and his limbs turn into jelly. He could barely sustain himself on top of Lucy, but did his best. Letting go like that was exhausting. He felt clear triumph about coming, knowing Lucy would be the only one he would do that to, but it lasted way too briefly for his liking. He almost pouted. He thought it would have taken longer for him to come and sex would have been dragged out, but he could not control his urges.

Natsu grinned tiredly down at her. "Wow," he breathed. "That was amazing."

Lucy nodded, smiling up at him. She looked positively gorgeous. "Yeah, it was," she agreed. "That didn't hurt too much after you started to move."

"I'm glad I didn't hurt you," Natsu confessed. "I'm still sorry about that. You—"

Lucy put a finger to his lips, effectively shushing him. Her eyes still looked hazy, but she regarded him in blatant adoration. "Don't be sorry. Because if you're sorry, that means you're sorry for having sex with me."

"Like Hell I am!" Natsu exclaimed.

Lucy chuckled. "Exactly. I'm not sorry about this either. So you don't be either, yeah?" Her smile grew as her eyes began to glisten. "I love you, Natsu," she declared.

Natsu stroked her face with an affectionate smile adorning his face. "I love you too, North Star," he murmured. "Why are you crying? I thought you were happy?"

Lucy sniffed, leaning into his touch. "I am," she confirmed. "It's just—… This feels so great. I'm with you. After everything that's happened, we're together."

"There's no one I'd rather be with," Natsu promised firmly. "I don't get why you start crying when you're happy, but since it's because you're happy, I guess its okay." He kissed her forehead then pressed his against hers. Tender onyx freckled in emerald stared lovingly at a warm hazel-chocolate blend. "This is what I want for the rest of my life," he continued. "We've been to Hell and back. We've been to Heaven and back. We've been to a whole other world and back. Maybe there is a God out there watching over us, and if there is, I want to thank them for giving me you. You're my past, present, and future, Lucy."

A lone tear fell from Lucy's eyes, trailing down the side of her face. "Natsu," she whispered, sniffling.

Natsu went on: "I know I screw up sometimes. I really wish I could promise you that I won't make you mad or sad, but you know me. It'll happen. Just know that everything I do, I do to protect you and love you. Believe me when I say that, okay?"

Lucy managed to nod. "I'll always believe in you, Natsu," she murmured. "And I can't promise that I won't make you mad or sad either, but I'll always love you too. I'll be your princess in shining armor. I am always going to be here beside you and for you."

Natsu lowered his head to pull Lucy into another kiss. The kiss was slow and with purpose, almost grateful, yet more loving. Lucy moaned appreciatively as Natsu controlled the kiss, moving his lips against hers. Even through the kiss, Natsu felt too exhausted to get excited once more. That reminded him. Natsu broke the kiss to look down. He was still connected to Lucy.

Natsu looked back at Lucy apologetically. "Guess I forgot," he laughed.

Lucy sighed, shaking her head in amusement. "Only you would forget." She looked down at them connected. It was a sight that brought a smile on her lips. "It feels so…natural," she described. "I love feeling like this."

"Yeah," Natsu agreed. "But did it—…?" He struggled for his words. "Did it feel okay when I—…?" A blush coated Natsu's cheeks abashedly as he trailed off.

Lucy's cheeks flushed when she realized what he was attempting to say. "Um, well…" She searched carefully for the right words to say. "It felt…different…"

Natsu's face shattered at her word choice. "Oh. 'Different', huh?"

Lucy's eyes widened at Natsu's crestfallen face. "No, no, different isn't bad!" she amended, panicking. "It was a good different! Feeling… _that_ …was a good feeling."

Natsu still looked away from her, upset. "You're just saying that," he pouted.

"I mean it," Lucy insisted. "It's like a part of you is in me now. We're connected, right? We're one. And with a part of you inside me, it's like a part of your love is in me." She groaned, moving her hands to cover her face. "I'm sorry. That sounded weird."

Natsu shook his head. He felt relieved at Lucy'gs small speech. A part of him was now with her. He was inside her. That made him grin. "Of course it sounded weird if it came from you," he joked. "My little weirdo. My weird North Star."

Lucy peeked from behind her hands to glare at her husband. "Keep calling me 'weird' and see where it gets you," she grumbled.

Natsu gave her his full-blown smirk, only used when he was cocky and knew he could back up his arrogance. "Well, it got you down the aisle and in bed with me, so maybe calling you 'weird' again will make a kid appear," he said.

Lucy opened her mouth to retort, but when she realized she had not a comeback to deliver, she harrumphed instead.

Natsu laughed at her. "Come on, Lucy! You know, it feels awesome to be with you like this and know I'll be the first and the last guy ever to do this with you." He leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "To hear you scream for me. To hear you beg for me. To see you touch yourself because of me."

"My greatest mistake," Lucy said miserably.

"Not a mistake," Natsu disagreed. "Just means I'm doing everything right. And seeing you like that is pretty…sexy."

Lucy arched an eyebrow. "'Sexy'?" she echoed. "You almost never use that word around me."

Natsu shrugged. "Well it's true. It got my fire going when I saw you doing that. But you'll never do it again. Only I'm allowed to make you scream. Not even you have that right anymore."

Lucy grinned a little, mirth twinkling in her eyes. "Oh really? I'm not property. You can't force me to do what you want."

Lucy saw a flash of possession overcome Natsu's eyes for a quick second. "You're not property, no," he agreed. "But you try touching yourself and you'll get punishment from me."

"Maybe I want punishment," Lucy challenged, feeling bolder.

Natsu growled at that low tone Lucy was using. She knew he loved it when her voice got husky. "I want do it with you again as punishment for telling me that," he disclosed, "but I can't."

"I know what you mean," Lucy said. She looked down at their sheets and saw their mess, grimacing a little. "We've still got to clean up too," she reminded.

Natsu groaned, head nuzzling into her chest. "I _hate_ cleaning!"

Lucy chuckled, absently fingering Natsu's hair. "I know. Trust me, I get it. But I'm not sleeping with your stuff all over me and the sheets."

Lucy could feel Natsu's pout against her breasts. "It's your stuff too!" he argued.

Lucy stopped fingering Natsu's hair as her eyes drifted off the top of his head and to her chest. "Um, well…"

Natsu's head snapped up. Eyes wide, he looked at her in shock. "You mean you didn't—?" He felt horror shadowing his body. "But how? You did it when I touched you!"

"Natsu, it's okay, really," Lucy soothed. "Not every girl comes the first time. It's normal."

Natsu frowned. "Have you seen us? We _aren't_ normal," he argued.

Lucy had to agree with him on that. "True. But Juvia and Mira and Levy all admitted to me that they hadn't and it was still fine."

"Droopy Eyes, Laxus, and Metal Head didn't make their girls come the first time?" Natsu repeated, sounding astonished. He scowled. "Now I wish you did come. Just so I could tell them that I got you to come the first time. I can just see their faces!"

"You and your rivalries," Lucy said dryly. Natsu grinned, but it was interrupted with a yawn. "All right, you need to pull out. We need to clean up before we both pass out."

Natsu whined, yet reluctantly had to agree. He was still tired from letting himself go—and a little disappointed he could not get Lucy to release with him—but he did not want to sleep in his mess. He wanted to sleep in nice, clean sheets with Lucy curled up in his arms. He knew she was longing for that too.

Natsu looked down again along with Lucy. Pulling out was simple right? It was the same as pushing in but in reverse. Natsu began pulling himself out when he felt Lucy wince. He looked at her worriedly and she waved him off. "Don't worry, I'll get over it. Just… Can you go a little slower?" she requested.

Natsu nodded immediately. He pulled out slower, eyes flickering up to Lucy's face every once and a while to ensure she was free of pain. She looked content enough. He watched as he came out of her. He was sad to leave her, already missing her heat. A little bit of excess semen poured out of her when he left her completely. His length looked like it usually was: flaccid. Some semen was stuck on him and he knew he would not only have to wash Lucy's thighs but himself as well.

Natsu backed away as Lucy slowly sat up to inspect the mess. She looked at her thighs with a wrinkled nose, but still smiled regardless. "I'll go look for some new sheets. You can go to the bathroom and get a wet towel for us," she assigned.

Natsu nodded, watching Lucy as she carefully climbed off the bed, muttering about her soreness and wincing from time to time. He missed her already. He missed seeing her in that translucent dress that was somewhere on the floor and those snow white panties that had been wet due to her. He missed plunging his fingers inside her, having his tongue lick her, watching smugly as she came. He missed having her underneath him, face contorted in undeniable pleasure as she breathed his name.

"Lucy?" Natsu called before she got too far.

Lucy turned around, a look of questioning on her face.

"Come here," Natsu commanded.

Lucy obeyed, walking to him until she was in front of him. "What?" she asked, eyes flooding with concern.

Natsu took a moment to appreciate every curve, every edge, of Lucy's naked body. She looked less shy than she was at the start of their intimacy tonight. It was like she grew confident as he showered her in love, worshipping her in kisses, praising her with touches. Her stance radiated her pride. She was no longer in need of his approval. She knew she had it.

Natsu's eyes dropped to her chest. He licked his lips. "Just one more thing," he said.

Lucy grinned down at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and straddled him. She felt Natsu's arms wrap around her waist almost protectively. She wanted to laugh. "And what's this 'one more thing'?" she wondered.

Instead of answering, Natsu took his mouth and attacked her chest. He was always a man of action anyways. He licked on nipple before sucking on it, tongue dancing on it. He heard Lucy gasp and squirm at contact, but he kept her firmly in place as he worked. He ran his hands along her back as if he were massaging her.

"Natsu," Lucy panted, almost pleadingly. "We shouldn't."

Natsu ignored her for a moment. He caressed the nipple once before blowing a jet stream of air on it. The nipple was perked, showing Lucy's arousal. Natsu kissed it again before moving to the other nipple. Lucy's back arched as he nibbled on it, teasing her. Her hands dug into his shoulder to stabilize herself,, but Natsu could hear her heart quickening and smelt that intoxicating aroma that drove him crazy. He was still exhausted, but her bouncy chest had just been too tempting.

Natsu pulled away, satisfied with his work. Both her pink nipples were pointy, and he just wanted to pinch them and tease Lucy a little. But he knew better. Instead, he lifted his chin to meet Lucy's lips, swallowing the moan she was about to make. His hands went from her back to her chest and stomach, creating shapes on her skin.

"Natsu, please," Lucy begged against his lips.

Natsu gave her one last kiss before letting her go resignedly. "Fine," he allowed.

Lucy glared at him and rubbed her chest delicately, aware of how sensitive her skin had become. "Thanks for that," she muttered. "Now I'm feeling it again. I thought you were tired!"

"Sorry, sorry," Natsu tried to apologize. "But your mouth and your boobs are way too tempting, even with me being tired."

"I'll get you back," Lucy vowed as she slid off him. "But we need more sheets first."

"Fine. I'll go get the towels," Natsu promised. Lucy nodded and was off to find a closet somewhere. Natsu watched her and took a tentative sniff of the sir. Her smell was spiking up. He growled. He knew where were other hand was going. "And no touching yourself!" he snapped.

Lucy looked back at him innocently. "I wasn't going to do that," she said. Natsu looked unconvinced. She sighed. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try to not, okay?" She sent him a smile as she speedily walked down the hall.

"You better not!" she heard Natsu yell. "I'll know!"

Lucy rolled her eyes as she uncomfortably walked down the hallway. As if he would know. Besides, it was his fault! He was making her feel this way! She could feel his hands kneading her chest softly as if massaging them. She sighed when she remembered Natsu's tongue attacking her nipples, teasing them, caressing them.

The ache in her legs was growing more uncomfortable.

Lucy kept walking, opening any door she saw. One door led her to a gorgeous kitchen. Another one led her to an office. Another one led her to another bathroom. She could imagine Natsu taking her in each room. Maybe she read too many of Erza's sex books, but now images were in her head. Seeing Natsu slam her against the bathroom wall. Seeing Natsu throw her onto the kitchen island. Seeing Natsu even pick her up and having her ride him.

The ache became worse.

Lucy hurriedly checked more rooms until she opened one to a closet. The room looked big enough for an actual bedroom, but it contained only women's clothing and shoes. She belatedly realized it was for her. She wondered how much jewel did it take for them to buy her that many clothes! She already had to many as it was! Then again, Natsu had ripped half her shirts off her.

The ache became unbearable.

Lucy darted over to the backless bench in the middle of the room. She sat down on it, bouncing a little. It was soft. The type of soft that made her want to snuggle up against it like a cat. But she needed to take care of her problem.

Mind you, Lucy never was big into touching herself. She was never taught anything like that when she was the Heartfilia heir. With no boys around and her training to be a proper lady, there was no need. But after Erza gave her a book from her personal collection, Lucy felt the need to. It was awkward and she had no idea where her fingers were supposed to go, but over time, she learned how to please herself when such urges came about.

"Sorry, Natsu," Lucy whispered, "but I need to." Without hesitation, she began to rub herself. She moaned a little, but bit her lip to keep herself quiet. Natsu would hear her if she did not. She needed to finish fast. She used her other hand to pinch her nipple, imagining Natsu touching her, teasing her. It felt so good!

Lucy knew she was far too wet and too needy for rubbing. She slipped a finger inside herself with ease and groaned. Just what she needed! Natsu was right: her fingers were nothing in comparison to his, but they would have to do. She would feel guilty for troubling him, demanding he please her, when he was exhausted himself. How she longed for those heated fingers!

She felt herself tighten on her fingers. She really needed to finish soon before Natsu became suspicious. She pried herself open with another finger, letting a groan of Natsu's name escape her. So much pressure! She thrust faster and felt her senses overloading. She began seeing white. It was too much! Way too much!

She came in a rush that was almost bruising. She felt herself pulsate around her fingers as she fell on her back, riding out her orgasm on her fingers. Her mouth was wide and ready, but the scream was muted. She let her hand drop from her chest, panting. She finished in record time. She still remembered awkward moments when she could hear Natsu approaching and would rush to her bathroom to finish by hoping in the shower and using the warmth to speed the process. This time, she needed not a shower, but only sensations of Natsu.

After a few moments of floating down from her high, she withdrew her fingers. Her legs felt a little weak and definitely sore from sex with Natsu, but she could try walking. Slowly, Lucy tried standing, fumbling a bit. She took an unsteady first step. It was hard to walk. Everything felt so sore. But she was determined.

It took her a little bit of time, but she walked evenly down the hall once again, searching for a closet with sheets. It was the third door she tried. She pulled out black sheets before closing the closet door and walking back to the main room. Natsu was already there with a wet towel in hand and the mattress exposed. He had cleaned up already, even though it was evident in his eyes how much he was tired. It amused her. Strongest man she knew could tire after one round of sex. Oh, that was something she would tease him about.

Natsu stood up to meet her, holding the towel out for her. "You can clean yourself. I'll do the sheets," he decided.

Lucy gave him the sheets as she took the towel. "What, don't want to clean me?" she teased.

Natsu grinned. "Hell yeah I do! But with my tongue, not some towel." He licked his lips as he stared down lower than her stomach. "I really want to lick you clean," he said. "And maybe I will tomorrow. You seem a little…dirty to me."

Lucy gaped at Natsu's crude remark as he casually walked away with the sheets. It made her shiver. She could not possibly get excited again, but she was impatiently waiting for tomorrow to come if he would uphold his promise and lick her clean. Sighing at what tomorrow could bring, she brought the cloth to her thighs and gently washed them. She was glad to rid herself of the stickiness on her. Besides, Natsu was inside her. That made her giddy. A part of Natsu was inside her. He loved her that much to respect her decisions and wait until they were married to give that part of himself to her whilst stealing her virginity. He was so considerate of her. It proved how much he loved her. If Prince Charming came knocking on her door, she would Lucy-kick him, shouting the guy she loves uses the window.

"All done!"

Lucy stopped cleaning herself to see Natsu standing proudly by the newly made bed. It looked like two lovers in their hot romance had not ruffled it. She was impressed as she walked over to him. "Wow. Looks good," she complimented.

"It should." Natsu pouted at her. "Remember how you wouldn't suck me until I learned how to properly make the bed?"

Lucy chuckled at the memory. "Oh. Right." She recalled that. She came home to a messy bed and her house trashes because Happy and Natsu played tag in her apartment. She threatened Natsu she would never lay her lips on his length should he leave the house in disarray and her bed was not made. He frantically learned from Mira in the next four hours how to meet Lucy's demands and she was delighted to see her house put back together.

Though the bed was messed up again when Lucy awarded Natsu a blowjob for his obedience.

Lucy threw the towel onto the chair before looking at Natsu again awkwardly. "So… Time for bed?" she assumed.

Natsu scratched the back of his head, also awkward. "Uh, yeah, sure." He gestured to the bed. "You first."

Lucy nodded and hesitantly climbed into her favored side of the bed. She was about to lift the covers before she felt Natsu slip behind her.

"You have me. No covers," he demanded in a gruff voice. He did not wait for an answer as he pulled her down beside him, her back again his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she placed her hands on top of his.

"You get jealous over covers," Lucy mocked. "Really, Natsu?"

"Just let me warm you tonight, okay? You never have any problems with it before," Natsu pointed out.

Lucy silently agreed. With Natsu around, she never needed covers. "Okay," she accepted. "Just no funny business."

She could practically feel Natsu's mischievous grin. "No boob touching?" He disentangled his hands from Lucy's to give her boobs a firm squeeze.

"No!" Lucy gasped.

Natsu's lips were on the back of Lucy's neck, leaving heated kisses everywhere he went. "No kissing?" he asked lowly.

Lucy sighed. "No kissing," she affirmed.

"Can I—?"

"Natsu, do anything and I will tie you up and let you watch me touch myself," Lucy threatened.

Natsu shrugged. "Fine by me," he said nonchalantly.

Lucy was stunned by his answer. "Huh?" she intelligently blurted.

"I said, 'Fine by me'," Natsu repeated. "Do what you want. But I'll get out of whatever you tie me with you know. And I will grab you and tie you instead and spread your legs wide for me. And I'll use my tongue to lick you. Maybe I'll go a little rough. I'll make you beg for me to go harder so you can release. And just when you want to, that's when I'll leave you. I'll leave you wanting me, but unable to touch yourself."

Lucy's eyes were wide. How…descriptive. It made her thighs quiver. "You wouldn't," she whispered. But they both knew the answer.

"You know I would," Natsu chuckled. "Now sleep, weirdo, before I get too handsy. It happens."

"Don't expect me to help you with your morning problem tomorrow," Lucy hissed.

Natsu laughed even more, snuggling closer to Lucy. "You always say that. But you always help me with that mouth of yours," he teased. "Now sleep," he commanded as Lucy opened her mouth.

Lucy sighed as his hands began massaging her stomach soothingly. "I love you, Natsu Dragneel," she yawned.

"I love you, Lucy Dragneel," Natsu whispered, giving her a lingering kiss on the neck. "See you in the morning."

Lucy mumbled something incoherent, but made no move to repeat it. Natsu knew she had fallen asleep. He did not blame her. He was a little tired himself. He knew she had touched herself in the closet. He could hear it, smell it. It made him smile. He made it so Lucy always had an ache between her legs. Good. That was what he wanted.

Natsu continued to absently stroke Lucy's stomach. He could not sleep, as much as Lucy believed he was exhausted. He was not. He could have taken her again if he had wanted. But he knew Lucy was sore and did not want to press her. Besides, he had a mating to worry about.

What they had done was making love. Natsu had mated with her in a sense by releasing himself in her, but that was not enough. His body and mind called this night making love as humans. Tomorrow, they would mate. That was what worried him. His body was trained and ready to handle the mating ritual. He knew how to perform the ceremony and knew the sex portion of it would be brutal and not at all loving as the sex they had tonight. He would hurt Lucy. He would not be able to yield to her pleas of stopping once he started. He would remain dominant through the mating process, forcing Lucy to acknowledge him as her mate.

"Lucy," Natsu whispered, "I'm so sorry, but I have to. Just bear with me."

Natsu closed his eyes and buried his nose in her hair. He took a deep whiff. He smelled that strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner she used for the wedding. It was fading as sweat added to the mix, but it was there. Having Lucy in his arms kept him calm. She was okay and asleep in his arms. She was his love, his star, his best friend, his wife, his mate. He loved her and knew she loved him.

But Natsu wondered if she would still love him after tomorrow—after he took her into the mating ceremony.


	2. Part II: Passion's Call

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Fairy Tail_**

* * *

 **Summary**

Taking place as Lucy and Natsu step into their week of passionate nights, watch as the great dragon and the angel form a union never seen in over four hundred years!

* * *

 **Interlude:**

 **Fairy Love**

 _by_

 **Magnafeana**

* * *

 **Part II  
**

 **Passion's Call**

* * *

Natsu sighed as he opened the door to the cottage and walked back inside. He had busied himself with finishing preparations for the mating ceremony and contacted Levy to ensure he had done everything right. Once he approved his work, he made the trek back to the cottage, back to Lucy. He slowly closed the door and his eyes went straight to his wife. While he was clothed in his balloon pants, scarf, and a t-shirt, Lucy was still naked and asleep. A soft smile was on his lips as he walked over to her. Her hair was splayed all over and a little drool was coming out of her mouth, but she looked like a Goddess in his eyes.

"Good morning," Natsu whispered. Lucy just sighed, still stuck in her sleep.

Natsu chuckled as he kicked off his shoes and went to go to the kitchen. He had woken up at the same time he always did and knew Lucy would remain asleep for hours after him. He had taken a shower and found his own walk-in closet filled with clothes that suited his style. He was relieved Lucy was not disturbed when he left and was not awake when he returned. He wanted her remaining ignorant until he fully explained everything to her.

Natsu went into the kitchen. He had to say he was impressed with Fairy Tail building this cottage for his and Lucy's honeymoon. The kitchen was cozy and fully stocked. He padded to the refrigerator and frowned when he noticed a few containers with notes on them. He picked up one big container of scrambled eggs and tore off the note. It was Mirajane's cursive writing.

 _This is for you two after your first night! Natsu, you should be able to warm this up with your magic. The fridge will restock itself after each night, so don't worry too much about cooking!_

Natsu smiled. Mira knew them well. Lucy could cook mostly essentials by scratch, but Mira must have known both would be too weary to attempt cooking and would want a fast meal. He took out containers of bacon and sausage and pancakes, all with Mira's handwritten notes attached. This was good. It meant he had more time with Lucy.

"Natsu," he heard Lucy's soft sigh.

Natsu set down the container of pancakes and darted out of the kitchen and down the hall, back to the main room. He looked at Lucy, who was sprawled on the mattress, still fast asleep and her chest heaving. His eyes darkened a little. Seeing her body so weak and vulnerable made him grow a little hard. Her nipples were erect and he began smelling that delicious smell she got when she got aroused. He grinned. _Wet dream, huh, Lucy?_

Natsu took off his shirt and his scarf and crawled onto the bed. Lucy softly sighed again, but it was a little louder than before. "Dreaming dirty, my North Star," he tsked. "Guess I should help you." His eyes flashed with thirst. "I did tell you I'd lick you lean."

"Natsu," Lucy mewled, too unconscious to notice him lick his lips.

Natsu gently spread Lucy's legs apart and was hit with a smell that made his fire burn. This dream of hers must have really been something if she was this wet! His grin darkened. He was eating his breakfast early. He climbed on top of her, effectively straddling her. Her cheeks were flushed from arousal and her mouth was parted slightly. He could hear her heart beat getting faster.

"Lucy, what are you doing to me?" Natsu quietly asked. His lips kissed her cheek before moving downward. He kissed her jaw, he kissed her neck, he kissed her throat, he kissed her pulse—he kissed everywhere. He was awarded with soft gasps, but when his eyes flickered to her face, she was still asleep. He shifted backwards until his mouth could meet with her chest.

Lucy's back arched as she softly cried his name.

Natsu hummed as he paid attention to her chest. He knew it would be sensitive. But punishing her for looking so vulnerable and moaning his name in her sleep was what he would do. He could feel his length tense as he played with her chest, but knew it was not the time. He had to save himself for the ceremony, even if he wanted to thrust into her. So, instead, he nipped and licked at her chest. Playing with her would be the only thing to satisfy him this morning.

Natsu kissed Lucy's nipple and she cried out to him again. _Just what could you be dreaming of, Lucy?_

* * *

Lucy walked on the beach. The sand was warm and soothing along her bare feet. The summer breeze massaged through her scalp. Shy waves kissed the bay then pulled away, abashed. The sun paraded in the sky, making sure the herding cattle of clouds migrated to their new home. She smiled, brushing a strand of hair back. This was absolutely picturesque, the perfect place for her to catch up on her writing. She sat down on the sand, moving her sundress' train. She laid her notebook and pen in front of her. She knew the rest of Fairy Tail was somewhere along the beach, probably playing in the water or going for food, or challenging each other to childish contest, and usually she would join in, but not today. This was just the place she could use to start writing again.

"What are you doing?"

A shadow overcame her, but she was not afraid. She looked up at the stranger. He grinned down at her and his eyes were friendly. His pink hair was tousled from the wind and he had forgone a shirt, walking about in his swim trunks.

Lucy answered him. "Just catching up on writing, that's all."

Natsu settled beside her. "Come on, Lucy, why write when we're here? It's our vacation!"

"I know. We've earned it," Lucy said. "But this is just the place to do a beach scene in my story."

Natsu studied her curiously. "You really like writing, huh?" he asked.

"Yeah," Lucy admitted. "It's fun creating a world only you can create."

Natsu cocked his head. "I don't get it," he admitted.

"It's fine," Lucy assured. "It's a writer-thing." She opened up her notebook. She could see notes inside. For some reason, the notes were all in a different language than Fioren, but she understood it perfectly. She picked up her pen and began to write. Ah, how she missed this!

Lucy was pulled away from her writing as Natsu pushed her back onto the sand, straddling her. She struggled against him, feeling annoyed. "Natsu, get off," she commanded.

Natsu gave her a snarling grin that made her shiver. His onyx eyes looked at her intensely as though imagining naughty thoughts about her. "Don't try telling me what to do," he said. "You're mine."

Lucy scowled, but could not deny the ripple of pleasure she felt at his possessive words. "Stop saying that! I'm my own person and you know that," she snapped.

Natsu did not look fazed by her speech. "You're mine," he repeated. He paused, then added, "And I'm yours."

Lucy stopped struggling and looked at him, bewildered. "What?" she choked.

"I'm yours," Natsu repeated. He leaned close and began kissing her face, each kiss leaving a burning sensation that left Lucy weaker and weaker. "I'm yours forever. You can do what you want with me, _Lucy_ ," he softly hissed.

"Natsu, wait," Lucy weakly protested, but it died out as Natsu began to move his lips along her jawline. The Natsu in her dreams was always like this: so possessive and refused to listen to her commands. As much as she wanted to fight against him, she melted whenever he touched her. She hated and loved how weak his burning touches made her feel.

Suddenly, they were not at the beach anymore. They were back in Lucy's old apartment. Naked with clothes scattered on the ground, they were on her old bed. Night had come as quickly as the day. There was no moon, but somehow moonlight invaded the bedroom. There was not a sound, not a light in the city of Magnolia. They were completely and utterly alone.

"What do you want me to do?" Natsu asked in a low growl, disregarding the change of scenery. "I'm yours for you to command. I will do anything you desire. I can kiss you until you feel like you'll pass out. I could kiss your throat." Natsu made an example of languidly moving his lips to her throat, nipping her skin a little. Lucy sighed his name. "How about I play with your boobs? I always loved them. Should I go soft or should I grab them? What should I do, Lucy? You always liked it rough, didn't you?"

"Shut up," Lucy managed to say.

"Oh, but I'm not finished yet," Natsu said, pausing to give her a mock pout. He went pack to trailing fiery kisses along her skin. "I could lick your nipples. I love playing with them and getting them to perk. They perk so easily. It must mean you get easily excited. Maybe I'll suck them. Bite them a little and bite around them. Lucy, I'm yours. You're my master. Tell me what you want."

"Do it, Natsu," Lucy panted. "Touch my chest, please!"

Natsu looked at her with an expression of arrogance. "Your wish is my command, Lucy," he whispered, making her thighs quiver. Natsu lowered his head to his chest. He blew hot air on one of Lucy's nipples, making it stand and wrinkle. He chuckled darkly. "Look at that. It's just so easy."

"Lick them," Lucy ordered. "Play with them now."

Natsu gave her a mocking look of confusion. "But Lucy, I thought you were writing," he reminded her.

Lucy growled at him. "You're mine, remember? Do what you're told."

Natsu nodded at her, cold amusement twinkling in his eyes. "Of course, _Mistress Lucy_ ," he hissed. He kissed both of her nipples before slowly lapping at one of them like a lazy cat, eyes remaining on her. The chilling gaze sent shivers down her spine. It was exciting to see a Fire Dragon Slayer have such coldness in his eyes. "Is that good?" he asked as his tongue swirled around her nipple.

Lucy arched her back. "Yes," she wheezed. "Use your hand on the other one and go gently."

Natsu consented to her wishes and tenderly thumbed the other nipple before kneading the whole breast. Lucy threw her head back as she let out a low moan. " _Natsu_ …"

Natsu's rumbling laugh had Lucy trying not to squeeze her legs together. "I can smell your arousal, Lucy," he said in a singsong voice. "So delicious. So hot. So sexy. It makes me want to lick you dry. It makes me want to fuck you."

Lucy gasped at Natsu's language.

Natsu chuckled again. Hungry darkness clashed with shocked chocolate. "Surprised? Don't be. I want to fuck you hard, Lucy. I want you to be so sore you won't be able to walk straight for days. I love being inside you. And I know you love it too."

Natsu gave Lucy's breath a firm squeeze and she cried his name. " _Natsu!_ " she cried loudly, trying to clear her mind of the hazy thoughts.

"Do you want me to?" Natsu asked, suddenly serious. "Do you want me to fuck you?"

Lucy took a moment to consider Natsu's offer. The idea of "fucking" him had crossed her mind more than once. "Fucking" meant he would be plunging in rough and fast without preamble. Another shiver went down her back. She could feel the ache between her legs growing when she thought about Natsu thrusting into her that fast and that hot. She needed relief.

"No," Lucy decided. "I want you to keep your promise and lick me dry."

Natsu nodded. "Your wish is my command," he said, sounding as though he were taunting her. He backed off her to sit in front of her. He spread her legs easily, but with soft hands. He stared down at her hungrily and licked his lips. "I can't wait to taste you again," he muttered. "Lick you dry. Lap every single drop of you up." His eyes went to hers. "Suck on your clit. Kiss it. Make you remember whom you belong to."

Desire shot through Lucy's body. "Do it," she urged. "I need you, Natsu."

Natsu did not answer her. Instead, he took her legs and threw them carelessly over his shoulders. He hunched down. Lucy could feel him getting near her. His tongue licked the length of her sex and she saw stars that were actual stars and not her Celestial Spirits. She groaned loudly when she felt Natsu's tongue slowly drag over her, before lapping her thighs, teasing her.

"If you want me to do something, you have to tell me," Natsu said. He peered over her stomach to look at her. "Your wish is my command."

When Natsu dragged his tongue over her again, Lucy cried louder. "Lick my clit!" she ordered. "Please, Natsu, just do it!"

Natsu obeyed. His tongue darted inside her and prodded the button-like organ. Lucy bucked her hips, but he easily held her down. He stabbed at her with his tongue, swirling it around her. Lucy shouted Natsu's name as she felt tingling pleasure pulse through her body.

"More," Lucy demanded. "I need more, Natsu."

"Of course, Mistress Lucy," Natsu whispered against her.

Lucy bucked when she felt Natsu's tongue dart at her sporadically, catching her off guard. She moaned as he made nonsensical shapes on her, stabbing her with his tongue from time to time. Her toes were curling with pleasure and she jolted each time Natsu surprised her. It was mind-numbing. It was…too much!

Natsu seemed to sense Lucy's struggle. "Lucy," he hissed, flicking her clit with his tongue.

"Natsu, please more," Lucy begged.

Natsu slowly licked her again. "'More'?" he repeated. "Are you getting close? I can smell you getting close." He inhaled deeply and breathed out on her, making Lucy shiver. "So good. Makes me want to fuck you hard."

"N-Natsu," Lucy whined.

Natsu sighed deeply. "I won't," he assured her. "How cruel are you, Lucy. Making me give you pleasure when you won't let me in. How cruel of you. It makes me wonder who's the demon and who's the angel."

Natsu slowly licked Lucy again, and Lucy nearly saw white from the desire coursing through her. It hurt so much for her to hold it in. She felt slight guilt for denying Natsu the joy of being inside her. Perhaps she was being selfish. But her need outweighed her guilt.

"Such a cruel star, aren't you?" Natsu whispered against her sex. Lucy gasped when she felt Natsu kissing her. By God, how great it felt! "It gets me burning when you're so mean, Lucy, my merciless Goddess."

"Oh, Natsu," Lucy moaned. She felt two heated thumbs playing with her chest and nearly lost it. This was torturous!

Natsu pulled his mouth away, smirking coldly when she groaned in displeasure. "Not yet," he chided. "Tell me: who do you love?"

"You, Natsu," Lucy said quickly.

Natsu awarded her with a gentle lick on her clit, making her back arch. "Who do you want?" he asked.

"You, Natsu," Lucy said.

Natsu flicked her with his tongue. "Now, who do you want to come for?" he demanded to know.

" _You_ , Natsu, it will always be you!" Lucy cried.

Natsu nodded his approval. "Then do it for me, Lucy. Come for me." With that he gave her a firm suck, humming lowly.

Lucy threw her head back in pleasure as her world unraveled, leaving her exposed and unreasonably blissful as she came.

* * *

"Wow, must've done a good job if you squirted again," came a familiar voice filled with amusement mixed with smugness.

Lucy blinked woozily as she tried to come back down for her euphoria. Such a sweet release was complete ecstasy! She could barely feel someone lap at her legs, licking her clean. She hummed as she looked around, her eyes hazy and her body tender. Oh how the dream Natsu teased her and made her want him so much. He was just so good with his mouth! Too good, now that she realized it. In her dreams, she never squirted. Even dream Natsu was not that good. Come to think of it, he never heated up his fingers for her before. And for her to come that hard...

A pair of lips kissed her, pulling her back down to Earth. They were warm and gentle and loving. Her dream Natsu was rarely gentle. His kisses on her were always rough and full of possession. Lucy responded to the kiss with ease, humming.

"That was a Hell of a way to wake you," came the soft voice of Natsu.

Wait, Natsu?

Lucy's eyes widened frantically when she realized where she was. She was in the bed in the cottage on her honeymoon. She looked up to see warm onyx eyes staring down at her with an affectionate smile.

"Good morning, Lucy," Natsu greeted lightly, kissing her temple. "Sleep okay?"

Lucy began to nod when she remembered her dream. Hopefully, she was not moaning in her sleep! Natsu may have known about her touching herself, but she did not want him to know she had wet dreams about him. He would never let her live it down!

Lucy nodded shyly, averting her stare from his. "Uh, yeah, it was fine," she mumbled. "You?"

Lucy could feel Natsu's smile widen. "It was great. You know, Lucy, you kind of talk in your sleep."

Lucy nodded. She knew that. Natsu had complained many a time about her mutterings in her sleep.

"And you moan too."

Lucy froze.

"Yeah, you were saying my name and your face looked a little pink." She felt Natsu lean closer. "Having a dirty dream about me?"

Lucy gulped. This was humiliating. He knew. He knew about her dreaming of him. "I—…" She struggled to get out her words. She wanted to cry. Natsu knew how much she thought about him. He knew she dreamt about them intimately.

Natsu stroked her cheek, forcing her eyes to look up at his. "It's okay," he soothed. "If you knew about all the times I dreamed of you, you'd call me a perv."

Lucy's eyes widened in shock. "Natsu!"

Natsu shrugged. "What can I say? It happens. But hearing you say my name in your sleep made me happy."

Lucy looked at him in disbelief. "Really?"

"Heck yeah! I feel awesome you dreamt about me! Plus"—Natsu licked his lips—"I was able to help you through your dream."

Lucy's mouth opened in a wordless gasp. It made sense. No wonder her dream felt too real, too vivid. Natsu had been touching her while she dreamt. She grinned up at him, suddenly thankful. "It felt amazing," she confessed. "And you kept your promise."

Natsu grinned back at her. "Guess I did," he supposed, trying to sound nonchalant. "Licking you clean was my pleasure. I got my breakfast early," he added cheekily.

Lucy laughed, playfully shoving him away. "Shut up! I am not breakfast," she said, almost pouting.

"No, you're not." Natsu brushed his lips against hers. "But you look delicious. That was just my snack. And I'm still hungry."

Lucy moaned when Natsu kissed the corners of her lips. He moved to her cheeks then her forehead then trailed back down to her nose. Just when Lucy thought she would get a kiss, he passed over her lips and kissed her chin. "Just kiss me!" she demanded.

Natsu chuckled. "Your wish is my command," he whispered, making her tense. He made it sound just like how Dream Natsu said it: so dark and intense, it thrilled her.

Natsu pulled Lucy into another deep kiss, taking his time with her. Lucy tried to hasten the pace, but Natsu kept it slow and steady. Such a sight was contradictory. Usually, it was Lucy who had to keep the kiss slow from a demanding and needy Natsu, but the roles had reversed. Natsu was content while Lucy needed him.

Lucy slid his hands down his chest agonizingly slow and felt him tremble from above her. Just the reaction she wanted. Her fingers danced a long his hot skin until she came close to his pants. Pants? She remembered him being naked as they slept, but she did not care. Undressing him made it more exciting for her. She began undoing his buttons and unzipping his zipper. She needed him; she craved him to thrust inside her as Dream Natsu desired. Maybe somehow Dream Natsu and her Natsu wanted the same thing. She did as well. She wanted to feel him inside her again.

Natsu suddenly pulled away. Lucy tried grabbing him back, hungry for his lips, for his touch, _for_ _him_ , but he got out of her reach and offered her an apologetic smile and a slight shake of the head. He looked clearly amused by her disappointment, but there was a glimmer of sadness in his eyes. "Not right now," he whispered. "Why don't you go take a bath and I'll get breakfast going, okay?"

"Join me," Lucy blurted, feeling courageous.

Natsu's eyes darkened as they raked over her body. Both of them knew how much he longed to join her and try heated shower sex with her. She had grazed his hardened length when she tried undoing his pants. She knew he wanted her again. And she needed him again.

Natsu shook his head, clearing his mind. "No. I have something planned for us today and we can't have us sore. I'd never hear the end of it from you," he added in a grin.

Lucy brightened. "You have something planned?" She then frowned, gazing at him suspiciously. "Is this surprise fighting some monster you found?"

Natsu shook his head. "No, and I only did that twice!"

Lucy held her skeptical stare.

Natsu sighed. "Just take your bath," he mumbled, crawling off her. "Then go get changed and meet me in the kitchen for breakfast."

"Do I have to wear clothes?" Lucy whined.

Natsu gave her a smirk. "Oh trust me. Having you naked around me all the time would be a dream come true."

Lucy smiled seductively, batting her eyelashes at him. "So can I?" she asked.

Natsu stiffened. His eyes watched her and Lucy knew he was lost, thinking about her prancing around him, naked. He swallowed thickly and turned away from her. He got off the bed, making her frown. "I'm going to start breakfast," he announced. With that, he scurried away.

Lucy looked after him in puzzlement. That was peculiar. She knew Natsu was always game for her sexual offers, even on missions. If she were desperate for release on a mission, he would leave his fight to attend to her needs. He always encouraged her to prance naked for him, even when she blushingly rejected his offer. And after sex last night, she was in need him thrusting into her again. It was clear his thoughts were the same as hers. She knew by that look in his eyes he wanted to do a repeat of last night. So why was he so hesitant this time?

Lucy sighed and sat up. She cursed at the soreness she felt in her thighs. Maybe a bath was what she needed. Lucy scooted off the bed and winced as she got off the bed. She yawned and stretched. She could feel the radiance of the sun on her skin. She had no idea what time it was, but the sun felt too good on her skin. It made her want to crawl back into bed. But the offer of a bath sounded too tempting.

Lucy walked away from the bed, wincing a few times, and down the hall. She remembered seeing the grand master bath the third door on her right. She swung the door open and fell in-love all over again. The bathroom was everything she wished. It was spacious enough for all the women of Fairy Tail to comfortably walk around. There were two showers. One was made out of pure glass. The other was in the middle of the bathroom, exposed to everything around it. It seemed the concept that a person and their lover could shower together under a waterfall. Lucy blushed at her thoughts. She could picture Natsu and her underneath the raining drops, Natsu grabbing her cheeks and ardently kissing her, molding his body against hers. Such daydreaming made her sigh.

The bathtub could fit four, but was meant for two. Lucy was in Heaven. How had Fairy Tail managed to make this bathroom so amazing? She went over to the cabinets and pulled one to reveal six bottles. Four were essential bath oils, another one was shampoo, and the last was conditioner. There was a note attached to one of the bath oils. Curious, Lucy picked it up. She recognized Mira's beautiful writing.

 _Lucy, hope you and Natsu had a good time on your first night! The girls and I figured you could use a relaxing bath! Hope you are enjoying your honeymoon!_

Lucy smiled at the note. Oh, Mirajane. It was just like her and the girls to do this for her. She looked at what they bought her. Almond, lavender, rosemary, and marjoram oil were her bath oils. The shampoo and conditioner was her vanilla honey scent she had loved when they went to Hosenka. She recognized the oils. They were most often used for muscle soreness. Lucy's eyes widened. That meant the girls had predicted Lucy would be sore from her events last night. Damn them!

Lucy abandoned the bottles to go to the bathtub. This was something she had learned from her mother. Her mother drew Lucy's father a bath when he was tired from a long day's work. Lucy learned more about baths from Mira and Evergreen after coming to Fairy Tail and often soaked in the tub after a painful mission. It was always soothing to her when she sat in the tub. Usually, she sat back and fell asleep, allowing the water to work its wonders.

After a few minutes, Lucy was relaxing in the tub, sighing in pleasure. Natsu was right: this was what Lucy needed to tend to her muscles. Sleeping after sex helped ease the pain a little, but after her wake up from this morning, the soreness had returned as a dull ache. She sighed as she felt the warmth gulf her. It was nothing like Natsu's warmth.

 _Natsu…_

Why had he rejected her? He had not made her feel unwanted, but he refused her offers. He seemed to have wanted her back in his arms last night even after sex. She could see in his eyes this morning he wanted to her the same way she wanted him. And yet, he gently pushed her away. His rejection made her frown. Maybe he regretted their first night as spouses. Maybe sex for him was not as great—albeit awkward—as it was for her. The rational part of her brain knew she was being unreasonable about her logic, but her emotions were set on edge. She knew it was stupid, but she felt like she needed his approval, she needed him to want her again. She felt a tear drop out of her eyes and brushed it away. How could she be crying? She knew Natsu loved her and always would. So then, why—…? Why did he reject her?

Lucy plunged herself into the bath, blowing bubbles. She just needed to relax.

* * *

Natsu sat back in his chair, his hunger abated. He loved Mira's cooking, but still craved Lucy's cooking more. The Take-Over Mage understood Natsu's hunger and made plenty for him to eat until he was full and enough for Lucy to eat as well. But Mira had not known about Natsu's plan he shared with the Master. Levy had told Natsu all the rules of the mating ceremony. He could not eat too much before it; he could only eat enough until his stomach was satisfied. Levy had also warned him Natsu could not have sex with Lucy before the ceremony either.

That rule made Natsu groan all over again.

After finding out how mind-blowing was sex with Lucy, he wanted to take her again and again. Seeing her naked and longing for him and underneath him made him growl. He felt himself get slightly hard at the thought. Lucy's flushed face, her parting lips, her shivers, her moans, her hands running through his hair, her nails digging into his shoulder, her hands trailing his body, her voice screeching his name as she came—oh, God, he wanted her! He wanted the sensation of being inside her again. Feeling her on him so wet, so tight… It was too amazing to put into words!

Natsu looked down to see a slight bulge in his pants. His mind was acknowledging Lucy was not only his wife but also his mate. His instincts were hissing he mate with her. He was ready. He was ready this morning to mate her. Her scent was too much to resist. But without completing the mating ceremony, the sex part of their mating would hurt her even more.

Natsu sighed, resting his chin on his arms. He felt guilt when he thought of Lucy's upset face from this morning. He knew she felt rejected. He could see that perfectly when he told her to bathe alone. Seeing her like that made his heart break. He had not meant to upset her, but he could not take her offer. It was forbidden. He would not break any rules. This was far too important for him to screw up. And he hoped Lucy saw that.

He thought of ways to explain to her about the ceremony. It was difficult for him to even talk to Levy about it and she was the one with the information on the ritual. For him to explain to Lucy, his own mate? He sighed. It was harder than he thought.

The relaxing scent of sweet honey with a pinch of vanilla mixed with a meadow of flowers hit his nose and he shivered as he felt himself tense. His nose was extra sensitive to her scent. It made him want to clear the table and start the mating without the ceremony. He swallowed. He had to keep control. He lost it this morning when he woke her up with his tongue. He could not afford to lose it again.

Lucy walked into the room, looking refreshed and blissfully ignorant. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at him and her smile looked pure and innocent. Natsu's eyes traveled approvingly up and down her body. She was wearing a light violet sundress with her hair in a side ponytail. She looked gorgeous. He growled lowly. He was ready jealous of her dress. He wanted to be the one to cover her, not some flimsy dress.

"Good morning," Lucy trilled as she made her way over to him.

Natsu smiled at her. "You look relaxed," he commented.

Lucy nodded at him, content. "The bath really helped," she mentioned.

Natsu watched as she leaned over the table, examining the food laid out for them. He could not resist it. He grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap. He grinned at her surprise yelp. She was too adorable.

"I hope you like it," Natsu put in. "Mira left it for us."

"That was so nice of her," Lucy said as she grabbed a spoon. She spooned a helping of scrambled eggs onto a plate then grabbed two strips of bacon. " _Mmmm_ ," she moaned. "This all looks so _good_."

Natsu nodded, his gaze transfixed on Lucy. "I know. Really good," he mumbled.

Lucy remained oblivious to Natsu as she took a mouthful of scrambled eggs. She moaned her appreciation and Natsu swallowed down his growl. She was making this harder for him.

"Wow, can't believe how much I missed Mira's cooking," Lucy said as she chewed her food.

"I like your breakfast better," Natsu muttered, but Lucy heard him.

She swallowed her food and looked at him, eyes twinkling in amusement. "I'm nowhere as good as Mira," she argued.

Natsu looked at her with a serious glint in his eyes. "To me, you're better. I love eating your food because you made it. I love everything you do," he admitted honestly.

Lucy blushed a little under the intensity of his stare and ducked her head. "Really?"

Natsu nodded. "Well yeah," he answered.

Lucy smiled softly. "Thanks, Natsu."

He raised an eyebrow. "What for?" he inquired.

"Nothing. I'm just glad you're you is all."

Natsu watched as Lucy returned to her breakfast. She felt so natural on his lap. Them eating breakfast together as man and wife felt normal to him. It was as if it was meant to be. She began speaking to him about memories they shared at the guild and alone and Natsu added his input when necessary, but he took the time to study her. He took in the smooth pale complexion of his skin. He admired how her golden hair glowed when hit with the sunlight. He loved each smile she gave him and the optimistic brightness in her eyes. He loved her too much. With how much he loved her, she deserved the right to know.

Natsu waited until Lucy was finished that he suggested they go onto the balcony. Lucy worried about dishes, but Natsu persuaded her to leave the dishes and join him. The view from the balcony was magnificent. They could see the layout of Tenrou Island from their perch. The ocean rolled with each breeze. The sun glistened in the sky, bright as ever. Lucy went straight to the railing as she did the last night, awestruck as ever. Natsu watched her in faint entertainment. She was just as childish as him when she wanted.

Natsu grabbed one of her hands and pulled her back with him. He sat on one of the reclining chairs and brought Lucy with him to sit on top of him, her back on his chest. He sighed as he wrapped his arms around her. He smelled her hair and his worries went away. He could not understand it. Lucy's scent relaxed him, and yet it seduced him. A mystery indeed.

"So what's wrong?" Lucy asked.

Natsu snapped out of his reverie at her question. "Huh?" he grunted.

"Something's on your mind, Natsu," Lucy pointed out. "I've known you for years. I know when something's on your mind."

Natsu was quiet. He should have known Lucy would deduce his behavior. As his wife and mate, she knew him better than anyone. But how was he to start what he needed to say? He thought for a mere three seconds and opened his mouth. "Did Levy ever tell you about dragons?"

Lucy nodded slowly. "I mean we both did a little research on them, but Levy knows more than me," she confessed.

Natsu nodded. That sounded right. Levy had warned him Lucy knew little about dragons besides what Gajeel had shared with her. "What about mates?" Natsu wondered.

Lucy hummed in thought. "No, not too much on that. Aren't mates the equivalent to a human husband and wife?"

"Kind of," Natsu half-answered. He was dancing on the truth. "For dragons, mates aren't always forever. Guy dragons when they're basically teenagers usually mate with a she-dragon just for sex. And when she-dragons are that young, they sometimes get pregnant, but the guy dragon never stays with her and goes to another she-dragon."

"That's horrible," Lucy whispered.

Natsu calmed her by rubbing her stomach with his thumbs. He went on: "Maybe it is, but they're young and stupid. Older dragons stay together after they mate, but some don't and mate several times with other dragons in their life." He paused, waiting for Lucy to say a word. When she did not, he took that as his cue to continue. "But how they mate is amazing. When a single guy dragon wants a mate, he woos her with this traditional dance."

"They dance?" Lucy questioned. She sounded skeptical.

Natsu chuckled. "I know. It sounds funny, but stick with me, okay? Yeah, they do a dance. It's to show off their power and grace and endurance to she-dragons. And when a she-dragon takes interest, she joins him in his dance. And they start singing."

"'Singing'? Really, Natsu?"

"Lucy!" Natsu whined.

Lucy laughed. "Sorry, sorry! Go on!"

Natsu huffed, but did as she asked. "They sing together. To humans, the singing sounded terrible! But to the two dragons, it sounded beautiful. When their song and dance was over, the two of them did a power test. They used their most powerful roar against each other. It was testing their strength. If they could match strength, they were suitable mates. If not, then they weren't meant to be."

"Oh" was all Lucy said.

Natsu kissed her head, still stroking her stomach. "It was harsh, I guess, because you're testing to see who's weaker, but it worked. So if the pair matched strength, they would fly off together. The guy dragon usually had a cave or a nest for the two of them to use. And they would begin one of the final acts: sex." Natsu's eyes darkened in gravity. "It was said it sounded like the dragons were trying to kill each other because mating was that aggressive. But no mating dragons died during sex," he assured. Or at least that was what Levy told him when he began to panic. "During their mating, they would give each other a Mark. It would let anyone know they were mates. And after that, the she-dragon would stay in the cave while the guy dragon brought her food until she laid eggs. After that? Happily ever after I guess."

There was silence following Natsu's words. There was nothing he left unsaid. He just held Lucy in his arms as she processed his words. He had no idea what was going through her head. How would she take the information? He did not know. He wished he did.

"Natsu?" He smelt the salt of tears and his eyes widened in fear as Lucy sniffled. "You love me, right?" she wanted to know.

"Absolutely," Natsu said firmly. "Don't ever doubt that. I love you, am always loving you, and will always love you."

Lucy nodded, but her tears would not stop. "So… When you said dragons don't always mate forever… Does that mean—…?" She sniffed. "Does that—…?"

Natsu sat up in the chair, forcing Lucy off of him for a moment. He pulled her back down so she was straddling him. Her hands hid her face, but he knew she was crying. His heart shattered. His arms encircled her and brought her to his chest, snuggling her in the crook of his neck. "No, Lucy, please don't cry!" Natsu pleaded. " _Shhh_ , Lucy."

"Does this mean you're not going to be with me forever?" Lucy sobbed. "You'll just get tired of me and leave me for another girl?"

"No!" Natsu exclaimed, horrified and hurt at the thought. "I'd never leave you! How could you say something like that? We're not just partners and teammates; you're my wife and I'll always love you!" Lucy kept crying. "Please believe me," he pleaded.

"I just—…" Lucy let out a shaky exhale. "I know it's selfish, but I want to be with you forever! But I—… I understand if you want to find someone else. If it's what is in your instincts, who am I to stop you?"

"Lucy," Natsu suddenly growled. He pulled her away from his chest. He used one hand to brush her hands away from her face and to tilt her shin up to look at him. She looked at him through her spilling tears. A memory of Éclair's death flashed through his mind.

"Lucy," Natsu said tenderly this time, "don't even think for one second I would leave you. I'm in-love with you. I love you. You are my wife first and foremost and I married you because of my love for you."

Lucy hiccupped. "But what about all this talk about dragon mates?" she asked.

Natsu smiled at her, incredulous of how oblivious she was truly. "Don't you get it? I want you to be my mate. I'm not fully human. Hell, I'm practically ancient and shouldn't be alive, but I am. Even without Igneel in me, I can feel it in my Dragon Slayer Magic. My instincts want you as my mate and as my mate forever."

Lucy sniffled, and Natsu used his thumbs to rub away her tears. "You want me?" Lucy probed.

"That's not even a question," Natsu told her. "I'm sorry if I made you feel a little upset this morning, but I can't have sex with you until the mating ritual."

Lucy looked confused at the statement. "But… What about last night?" she questioned.

Natsu had a feeling she would ask. "I made love to you last night as my wife. My body and mind knew you were my wife last night. But today, you are the woman I want to perform the mating ceremony with. Trust me: I _really_ wanted to redo last night this morning."

Lucy smiled at that. "Me too," she admitted. "But I understand."

"Good." Natsu kissed her forehead. "I'm glad you get it." Lucy leaned into his touch. Natsu felt complete like that, having Lucy in his arms, near him, safe with him. She was his other half—his lighter half. Where he was a demon, she was an angel. Where he was in the dark, she was his light. After the mating ceremony, their souls were linked.

"So…" Lucy pulled away to grin at Natsu. "You're going to dance for me?"

Natsu groaned. "Yeah, it's part of the ritual. I had to practice for weeks until I didn't mess up. The moment I screw up is the moment when you can turn me down."

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. "I can do what?" she asked.

Natsu nodded solemnly. "Yes. If I go too fast or misstep, I could hurt you or scare you and you could reject me."

"I would never reject you!" Lucy vowed fiercely. Her brown eyes glowed determinedly. "We're on a never-ending adventure together!"

Natsu smiled sadly. "I know," he whispered, soothing her with a kiss on the nose. "I'm just letting you know the dangers of this. You're going—…" Natsu swallowed. "You're going to get hurt because of me," he confessed. "Dragon Mating… It's not the gentlest thing, Lucy. It's _nothing_ like we did last night. If I wanted to mate with another Dragon Slayer—I said 'if'!" he emphasized, amused by the flash of jealousy in Lucy's eyes. "If I wanted to mate with another Dragon Slayer, I wouldn't worry about her."

"Why?" Lucy interjected bitterly. "Because she would be stronger than me?"

"No!" Natsu denied. "That's not it! But a girl Dragon Slayer would be used to this. We have no idea how much harm it will do to you. Dragon Slayers at least can create scales to protect themselves. You're exposed!"

Lucy smiled at Natsu's worry for her. "It's okay, Natsu," she insisted. "I'll be fine."

"You don't know that!" Natsu argued. "This is brutal stuff, Lucy! Levy and Gajeel aren't sure how you'll be able to get through this. I can't—" He stopped, defeat in his eyes. "I can't lose you again," he whispered. "I lost you so many times. And to think I could lose you because of my stupid instincts? I can't go through that, Lucy. I can't go through seeing you hurt."

Lucy saw the broken look on Natsu's face and immediately regretted being so lighthearted on the situation. Natsu was fearful of this mating ceremony. She remembered each time she thought she was gone, only for Natsu to revive her. She always assured him there was nothing he could have done, but he blamed himself countless times for her near-death experiences. Lucy could tell he inwardly yearned for her to not just be his wife but his mate; however, she saw him struggle to see past the potential pain she could endure.

"Natsu," Lucy said, forcing his eyes to meet hers. "I'm okay. I'm right here with you. And I want to do this mating ceremony with you."

"But how it could affect your body—!"

Natsu was shushed through Lucy's kiss. He closed his eyes as he responded. He was becoming dependent on her lips. They were so soft and smooth against him. He pulled her closer as he nibbled on her bottom lip. Lucy sighed, raising a hand to caress his face. She parted her mouth a little for him. Natsu slipped his tongue into her mouth, lightly resting it atop of hers. Lucy moaned her appreciation. Natsu moved his tongue, slowly exploring Lucy's. He felt Lucy's tongue copying his movements and growl rumbled in his throat.

Natsu felt Lucy running a hand down his shirt, stroking his chest. In response, he moved one of his hands to stroke her chest. He was pleased when Lucy's back arched and she pulled a way a little to sigh his name. That was right. She would only ever say his name. His hand slipped from her chest, trailed down her stomach and landed to her inner thigh. Her smell was heightening. He loved the smell of her arousal. He delicately stroked her inner thigh. Lucy awarded him with a hearty moan. He loved her moans. They reminded him how good he made her feel.

Natsu felt himself grow hard and broke off from the kiss. The bulge in his pants had grown painfully. His mating urges growled that he yank off Lucy's panties along with his pants and boxers and connect with her. Her smell was increasing, driving him crazy. He knew should her hand touch him he would lose himself to primal hunger. He stopped stroking Lucy's thigh and looked back up at her, sorry and ashamed, nevertheless longing. "We can't," he denied with heavy reluctance. "We have to wait for the mating ceremony."

Lucy fidgeted on top of him and Natsu noticed her smell had not gone away. He knew it would take some time until her urges calmed down. Lucy nodded in understanding, but residual desire was in her eyes. "Of course." She got off Natsu, wincing a little when her legs crossed.

Natsu sat up and cursed himself. He was losing control too fast. He needed everything perfect to ensure Lucy would not get hurt during the ritual. "I'm…going to go take a cold shower," Natsu muttered.

Lucy laughed at Natsu. "Fine, fine. Go take care of your little problem."

Natsu looked at her, offended. "'Little'?" he echoed. He had to object to that. His length was not little! He could even remember when Lucy saw him for the first time and gasped about how large was his size. That was a memory he was proud of: to see Lucy in awe of his length.

Lucy stood up, peering down at Natsu through hooded eyes. "I'll go take care of the dishes. If you need help with you problem, well…" She took her index finger and slowly sucked on it. Natsu watched with starved eyes as she pulled it out of her mouth with a smirk. "I'm always willing to help you," she finished, walking away with swaying hips.

Natsu gazed after her. Such a tease! He wanted her mouth on him now. He wanted her to gag on him as punishment. He wanted her on her back, begging for him and on the verge of tears. He wanted to command her to join him in the shower and pleasure him as she promised. He wanted her to suck him dry. Such thoughts made him shiver as blood rushed down. Natsu looked down to see a tent in his pants. Shit! He really needed a cold shower! Hurrying, Natsu ran into the cottage to find the bathroom, tearing off his clothes.

" _Natsu_ …" he heard Lucy moan.

Natsu stopped immediately and whipped around to see Lucy smirking at him. "Oh, don't mind me, Natsu," she purred, strutting away from him.

Natsu was tempted to pull her back. Her teasing mouth on him seemed like a reasonable punishment. He could see it. Them together in a steamy shower. Lucy on her knees, sucking him and touching herself… Oh God, how much he wanted her!

Natsu felt his cock twitch. He growled lowly. _Damn it, Lucy! Why do you have to be such a damn tease?_

* * *

Lucy was a little petrified when Natsu led her to the grounds they would use for their mating ceremony. It was at the heart of Tenrou Island in a wide clearing. Strange markings were on the ground in formation of a circle. Lucy could tell they came from an ancient language, but Levy would be more knowledgeable as to what they read. The space seemed comfortable enough for a sparring match. That made Lucy wonder if the mating process involved them battling. Natsu had mentioned to bring her keys. Lucy thought she had left them back in Akane where Levy would ensure her keys were safe, but Lucy found her keys in her closet, humming their greeting to her.

Lucy looked over to Natsu, who discarded his shirt and shoes at the edge of the clearing. He looked a little nervous about the whole ceremony, but tried to put on a strong front for her sake. She pitied her husband. He must have been scared of messing up and having her reject him. This was an ancient ritual unused for the last four hundred and more years. He would be the first Dragon Slayer since then to perform the mating ceremony. She understood his nerves.

Natsu headed over to her, smiling uncertainly. "Shoes off?" he checked.

Lucy pointed over to her sandals at the edge of the clearing. "Yup. I'm all set!"

Natsu nodded. "Great. Go into the circle and stand in the center. Then place your keys around you. All of them. Silver, gold—doesn't matter."

Lucy arched an eyebrow, frowning at him. "Is this normal?" she asked.

Natsu shook his head. "No. Levy had to make adjustments to the ceremony due to us being us. It should work just as well." He walked away from her and began muttering too low under his breath for her to understand.

Lucy huffed. Well, that was comforting. Still, she did as Natsu asked and wandered to the center of the impressive circle. Once she figured she was in the center, she stood still and brought out her keys. She disconnected her key ring and she carefully set each key on the ground in a ring around her. Each key thrummed under her touch and she could vaguely hear the greeting voice of each of her spirits as she set them down. She was proud of her key collection. She had made so many new friends as she got to know her spirits. They were her family. She could trust them with her life.

"Lucy!" She looked up to see Natsu standing right on the edge of the markings inside the circle. His signature scarf swayed in the wind. He stood proud and tall with renewed confidence in his eyes. His stare remained lock on Lucy. "I'm going to start," he warned her. "Once I start, the ruins will activate. The book said girl dragons feel a pull on their magic. Just go with the flow, okay?"

Lucy nodded, confused but trusting in him. She had no idea how the ceremony would commence or the outcome, but if it meant she and Natsu would be linked forever, she would follow him.

Natsu settled into a stance, closing his eyes. His hands burst into flames. Slowly, he moved his hands around as if they were the wind, just going through the sky. It was entrancing to watch the fire dance on his skin. The orange flames licked over his body, crawling up from his arms and spreading onto his torso. The fire ignited on his skin and quickly cloaked the rest of his body. He stilled for a moment as though overwhelmed. His eyes remained closed and Lucy saw him breathe in and out slowly.

Then Natsu moved.

His body moved slowly, yet confidently, gliding through as he followed the motions of the breezes. He moved his arms in front of him as he ducked and slid his left foot ahead of his right. He slowly rose his head up and blew a jet stream of swirling fire into the air. The fire hungrily ate the air to expand itself. However, instead of dying after a few seconds of being born, the fire began to slither on its own. Lucy watched in awed eyes as the fire went around the circle. She could hear barely audible whispers and mutterings as it did. The language sounded gruff and in a series of growls and hisses. But she did not mind. The fire had captivated her eyes.

Natsu continued moving along the circle, moving his hands around him. Fire poured out of his mouth, but he acted as though he did not care. He kept sliding forward, channeling the fire to sync with his moves, and kept blowing out fire. Lucy watched his movements with a strange intensity. She felt safe with Natsu near and the warmth given off by his fire soothed her worries and made her let go of her cares. She could not take her eyes off of Natsu. It was peculiar, but his movements made her body weak with desire. She felt an odd pull toward him. The fire moving around her felt as if it was calling to her. And Natsu's movements were just so _sensual_. She could not break away from watching him. She could only watch him longingly.

Lucy listened closely as she heard the hisses and growls of Natsu's fire grow louder. However, the growls and hisses melded together into something beautiful. Deep, baritone voices caroled together in their native tongue. The song vibrated through Lucy's mind and the words seduced her, forcing her to listen. Their words soothed her, tempted her, excited her. Her eyes flickered back to Natsu, but he seemed ignorant of the song of his fire and continued his movements. He was only three-fourths around the circle, but his fire was unceasing and his movements were fluid.

Lucy heard a vague humming sound echoing from her keys in approval. She could feel her Celestial Magic course through her. She had only felt the power faintly when she summoned her spirits as well as when she took on their forms. But this time, it felt different. She felt so light and unbound to the world. She felt as though she truly belonged among the stars. She could feel rushes of power wash over her like a relaxing waterfall. The power of the Heavens began singing to her in a chorus. The words were garbled, but somehow she understood their songs. Her magic was responding to Natsu's magic. This must have been the singing part Natsu mentioned!

The soft voices of her Celestial Magic were nestled by the deep vibrations of Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic. It was a harmonious tune combining the two languages into one. The soft chorale of the Heavens would sing verse first, but the baritone choir of the Draconic Fire followed soon after, reassuring the soft voices. Lucy felt like weeping at such beautiful music. She heard them rise and fall with an uncountable beat, moving smoothly from verse to pre-chorus to chorus to bridge and all over again. She could tell her spirits were singing along as well, adding their voices to the ensemble. She felt a swell of gratitude toward her spirits. They officially approved of her choice. She would have to find a day to thank them personally.

Her Celestial Magic suddenly gained one strong voice that stood out among the others. It sounded female, soft-spoken and dainty. The voice filled Lucy's ears. _Natsu_ _Dragneel_ , the voice called in song. The voice sung the name with such love and such acceptance.

A deep rumble stood out among Natsu's magic. It sounded male, strong-willed and protective. The voice filled Lucy's ears. _Lucy_ _Heartfilia_ , the voice sung back with a light growl. It sounded so affectionate, yet so dark with intense craving.

Lucy shivered at the voice. She was wrapped around in its protection, its warmth, its love, its lust for her. The fire was getting hotter. She could sense something. Her keys hummed louder. The vibration of the fire and the song of the Heavens increased their volume. Her body was getting warmer and her need was increasing. She looked over to see Natsu only a step away from completing the circle. Once Natsu made his last step, the ruins activated. They flashed with warming gold and raging orange. The earth began to tremble. Her keys began to glow a golden color. The golden glow suddenly shot up from the ground, encircling her. She could feel the crushing weight of space coming down on her. It was too much to bear! She felt as though she would break.

However, before Lucy could cry for help, the discomfort began to lessen. The golden glow pulsated around her, sending waves to the fire who gladly accepted them. The ruins began to shine brighter. The heat would normally be unbearable, but it aroused Lucy and made her feel loved. She felt so ecstatic! This was such a feeling even she as a writer could not describe. Yet, just when Lucy thought it would be over, she felt a strange sensation cover her body.

She began to move.

Lucy's movements were slow at first, weaving from side to side. Her hands were covered in a golden energy as she waved them around. She could see Natsu was going back ground the circle again, oblivious to her dancing. He was going faster than before, his mouth still open as he blew fire. Lucy turned her attention back to her own dancing. She never knew she could dance like this. She supposed it was her magic reacting rather than her mind and it knew the dance. She was supposed to go slow as she twirled around, moving her hands with her. As if on instinct, her mouth opened. A golden energy left her mouth. She watched as she danced as the swirl of golden energy acclimated with Natsu's fire.

A wave of pleasure overtook her body.

Feeling her magic and Natsu's magic touch was such an intense feeling.

She shivered when she felt Natsu's fire welcome her magic and protect it, winding itself around the golden energy like a cat as though to sooth her magic. Her keys hummed their content. The song of the Heavens sounded coyer than before, but the song of the Draconic Fire encouraged her. A rush of affection embraced Lucy and she knew it was Natsu's magic trying to get her to not be afraid. She was not afraid. She was timid, yes, but not afraid. Her magic, too, seemed nervous at Natsu's magic's invitation.

A memory flashed in her mind. She saw two hands. One hand was tan and battle-worn. It was the hand of someone who had traveled places, who had fought for something, who had been alone. The other hand was pale and delicate. It was the timid hand of someone who never fought, who never traveled, who had been alone. The tan hand offered itself to the pale hand. The pale hand reached for it before pulling back. Hesitantly, the pale hand reached out for the tan one and the tan hand reached out for the pale one, interlacing their fingers.

The ruins around the circle burst with light. A mixture of orange fire and golden energy erupted from the ruins to create a barrier. No longer were Natsu and Lucy connected to the outside world. They were alone in the space they created for each other. Lucy's keys levitated in the air before scattering apart and into the barrier. Rather than perishing, each key glowed from their place in the barrier. They were merging with the fire.

The Celestial Magic accepted the Fire Dragon Slayer Magic.

Lucy found she danced her way to the edge of the circle. Natsu was on her opposite side. His eyes, however, were open and he no longer breathed fire just as she stopped breathing her magic. The two of them were bathed in the essence of their magic still. Unreadable onyx freckled with emerald clashed with blank chocolate making love to hazelnut almond. Just by looking at him, Lucy felt her body become attracted to him in ways she had not been last night. Her love for him was burning and passionate, but her desire for him was identical. She knew Natsu was feeling the same way as she. She just knew it. Knowing they both felt like that consoled Lucy. Natsu wanted her in every way and she was ready to give everything she had to him and surrender her whole soul to combine with his.

As though automatic, Lucy and Natsu opened their mouths. Nothing was said between them however. Their mouths were simply open. Then fire and golden light spewed out of their respective mouths. It was a sudden burst, but Lucy was not surprised. She could only watch as the golden light and the fire barreled towards each other.

And then they clashed.

And the whole world had gone white.

* * *

The mind is a tricky thing, especially in dreams. It could force you to believe that the guy next to you was a serial killer. It could create world where you are the hero and your irritating elder sibling is the evil antagonist set on killing your crush. It tells you what you could and could not recall. It tells you what the smell was. It tells you which color was what. You could see red, but your mind convinced you it was purple. The mind is a tricky thing. Perhaps it knows it was too smart for its own good, perhaps it knows you could kill it through the abuse of drugs and alcohol, but it cares not for any of those factor. It still controls your being. It controls your want, your needs, your hates, your loves—it controlled everything.

The mind is a tricky thing.

Especially when it created nothing.

White could be seen from miles on end. There was not a song being made, or at least the mind muted all sounds. There was not a thing to be seen, or at least the mind cloaked all things to be invisible. There was not a scent to be smelled, or at least the mind tricked the nose into believing there were no scents. There was ground and there was a sky. But where were each? How did one know they were on the ground when they could be in the sky?

The mind was a tricky thing.

Two figured emerged into the space of white. Their shapes were the first things to arrive and finalize before their color came in. A yellow like the sun as it began its trek home to sleep as the moon took the night shift. A pink like the blushing sky early in the morn. A pale peach like the shifty white sand of paradise. A light tan like the sunbaked sand of a local beach. Swirls of amber engulfed in chocolate with twinkles inside that represented the stars. Pools of flint sprinkled in shredded bright green with a resilient fire always burning inside. A pale pink like the cheeks of a flustered schoolgirl. A fiery red like the blood poured from enemies.

Snow white wrapped around their bodies to shield themselves from each other. They settled down on what they believed was the ground and looked around them. The world was not yet created. They were the firstborn in such a white wasteland. They were the rulers. They were together.

Lucy looked at Natsu in bewilderment. _What is this place?_ she asked without opening her mouth. Her eyes widened and she covered her closed mouth in panic. _I'm talking without moving my lips! Telepathy?_

Natsu shrugged his broad shoulders. _I don't know_. He grinned when he realized he had not needed to open his mouth to speak. _Whoa, this is awesome! Take that, Warren! We can talk through minds too!_

Lucy shook her head, sighing in her head. _I'm still confused what this place is_ , she admitted. _I just remember using my magic on you and then this happened._

Natsu's grin softened into an understanding smile. _Levy told Gajeel and I about this. Though_ —he scratched his head sheepishly— _I didn't really understand most of it_.

Lucy rolled her eyes. _Of course not. But what did she say?_ she probed.

 _Well, right now, we're trying to match strengths_ , Natsu explained _. I don't know where we are, but I'm guessing it's somewhere in our minds. Levy said something about dragons going somewhere to basically say, 'I accept you as my mate' and stuff._

Lucy furrowed her eyebrows. _But our magic already combined_ , she realized. _That should mean we accepted each other. Wait!_ she suddenly exclaimed. _I think I read a little bit about this! Natsu, we're not in our minds. We're in our souls._

Natsu looked skeptical of that. ' _Souls'?_ he echoed. _I don't know. Shouldn't our souls be more like us and how we are? Not all white and quiet and boring?_

 _Not necessarily,_ Lucy murmured, tapping her chin. _If I've got this whole mate thing right, then we combine our souls, right? So this must be what our combined soul looks like!_ Lucy stared around her in awe.

 _But it's blank!_ Natsu protested.

 _Well, now it is, but it won't be for long,_ Lucy said. _Did Levy teach you anything about how to do this soul thing? Wasn't it in a book?_

Natsu thought back to Levy's teachings. The memories to him were a little fuzzy. Her words were hazy, but the message was clear. _I don't know,_ he confessed. He tried harder to remember. Levy had said something to him, had she not? Natsu's eyes widened. _We have to let our inner selves or whatever take control!_

Lucy offered him a flat look. _Really?_

Natsu nodded vehemently. _Yes! Our inner self somehow knows how to do all this. Now that our magic accepted each other, it should be easy._

Lucy frowned. _I mean we could try it,_ she supposed slowly. _Maybe try meditating or something? Wouldn't you have to call to your inner dragon?_

 _I guess so,_ Natsu figured with a nonchalant shrug of the shoulders. _Try focusing on your spirits or something._

Lucy nodded. _Okay. I'll try._

Natsu and Lucy both closed their eyes, inhaling and exhaling slowly. Natsu searched for something, anything that could lead him to the dragon inside him. It was difficult when his concentration kept straying. He needed to focus! But how was he supposed to find this "inner dragon" of his anyways? Igneel was no longer inside him. What was he looking for? He searched harder. There had to be something!

Something sparkled inside him. He felt it. He knew what it was. He had trained with it before. He smelled it before. It was Igneel's fire, or at least part of it. He could feel it. It was small, undoubtedly, but alive and well. It was a part of Igneel, the last part of him left. Natsu felt his fire intertwining with his father's flame. He knew. That was what he searched for. He found himself standing in a sea of his fire, the flames licking him as though welcoming back their master. He breathed in and when he exhaled, flames came out of his nose. He smiled. This was his "inner dragon".

Lucy used her mind to locate her keys. She could faintly feel them, but the connection had not broken. They were concerned for her, but she could tell they trusted Natsu to return her to them. Such caring spirits she befriended. She looked harder. She found memories of her mother and father, but that was not it. She had to search deeper.

Something twinkled in the darkness of her thoughts. She knew that twinkle. It was Rasalas, the star in Loke's constellation that he gave to her! Rasalas touched what appeared to be the ground in the darkness and the darkness rippled. Within seconds the obscurity transformed into space. Lucy was in awe. She was floating in space. Stars were everywhere. A supernova here and there. Galaxies were being born and destroyed. A solar system or two was below her feet. She was in the Heavens. She felt Celestial energy encircle her, feeding her. This was it. This was her "inner self".

When Natsu spoke, a hundred voices chorused with him. Each was deep and rumbling and full of tender affection, but his voice was the leader. _Tá mé ach leath gan tú_ , he chanted.

Lucy heard him. She understood him. She opened her mouth to recite back to him, accompanied by a soft chorale: _Dan saya setengah tanpa Anda._

It was Natsu's turn again. _Ag triall ar an domhan, a thabhairt mé leath m'anam a thabhairt duit_ , he promised.

Lucy felt her heart flutter at his words. Her inner self was pleased by his promise. _Dan saya memberikan setengah jiwa saya kepada Anda, cintaku_ , she vowed.

The fire surrounding Natsu burned brighter at the declaration. He could feel the fire's need to go to Lucy's magic. He felt the pull to her as well. But he had to restrain himself. _An mbeidh tú Fan Le Mise?_ he demanded. _An mbeidh tú a roinnt ar fud an domhain le liom?_

Lucy wanted to laugh at Natsu's request and the spatial universe created a new galaxy in honor of her mirth. _Aku akan selalu_ , she promised. _Dan akan Anda tinggal dengan saya? Apakah Anda ingin menghabiskan sisa hidup Anda dengan saya bahkan jika aku jatuh buta atau tuli?_

Natsu smiled. His fire cackled in reflect to his amusement. _Beidh mé i gcónaí_ , he vowed.

The white abyss changed. Sunset gold swirled around with blazing orange instead. Lucy was wrapped in a dress made of the universe and Natsu was wrapped in pants and a shirt ablaze in his flames. He held out a hand for her and Lucy gladly accepted it. He pulled her close to him, resting his forehead on hers.

 _We combine as mates_ , they both said, their voices echoing, _and will uphold to our promise. May the fire of Igneelson and the stars of the daughter of Layla join together in unison for now and forever!_

Natsu closed the distance between their lips and brought Lucy in for a well-deserved kiss, which she eagerly reciprocated.

And white exploded once again.

* * *

When their eyes opened, they were met with the most beautiful sight their eyes had ever seen: they were trapped in a swirling tornado of their combined magic. Their songs combined in perfect harmony. The fire's baritone sound couched the stars' gentle ballad. They no longer sung in echo. They sung as one, wholly and intimately.

Desire pulsed through the air, making Natsu tense and Lucy shiver. It was one of their final acts of the mating ceremony: the Mating Phase. Lucy felt sudden anxiety from the thought and as a result her magic shied away from Natsu's, trepid. Natsu's fire pulsated a little, showing off its need and love. That was all it took for Lucy and her magic to calm down.

Natsu felt pleased when his fire was able to sooth Lucy. In a normal mating, it was rare for magic to act so affectionately to a dragon's mate's magic. This just meant he and Lucy were more compatible than they believed. Natsu growled when he felt his growing need toward her as well as his fire yearning to intimately combine with Lucy's magic. When their magic combined in such a way, he knew his fire would recognize her and would not burn her, but treat her as it did Natsu and merely lap at her skin. But Natsu felt differently. His desires were more primal, more animalistic. He needed to mate with Lucy and prove his dominance to her. He needed him inside her again. He was growing impatient with lust as he remembered the feeling of being inside her. How tight she was. How wet she was. How she screamed his name. He knew he would not be able to be as gentle with her as his was before. He was in desperate need of release and knew only Lucy could give it to him. He _wanted_ her.

He looked at his arms to see pinkish scales surface. His tongue went over his teeth. His canines had sharpened. Flames danced over his body and need clawed at his lower stomach. He cursed the human side of him trying to restrain him from throwing Lucy to the ground and proving him to be her mate. He stalked over to her, a snarl on his lips and rumbling in his throat. His fire began the process of coaxing her magic to surrender to it so they may be one. Natsu sniffed the air and his mind blanked out in lust. Lucy's smell was strong. She was ready for him.

Lucy took a tiny step back as Natsu approached her, freezing when he growled at her almost as in ordering her to stop. She felt his magic grow restless as her magic was still hesitant just as she. She knew his fire only desired uniting intimately with her Celestial Magic, but her slight fear toward Natsu reflected on her magic. Natsu looked different than he had before. His skin was covered in pinkish scales and his eyes had narrowed coldly, but carried the same intense need that made her thighs quiver. She saw his canines protrude his mouth. He had surrendered himself to the dragon side of him.

And that thrilled her a bit.

Natsu stop in front of her, dark eyes slowly drinking in her appearance. He growled a moment later and raised a hand. "No clothes!" he commanded, tearing at her sundress.

Lucy winced at his aggression as he slashed at her dress and ripped it off her, leaving her in her panties. Natsu ignited himself and burned off his clothes, throwing his scarf away. Lucy let out a surprised yelp when Natsu swept her off her feet and set her gently onto the ground. She knew he was struggling to be careful with her. His fire seemed to be the one being gentle with her magic as it began the process of intertwining with it. It was sweet. It was like Natsu's Fire Dragon Slayer Magic wanted to make love to her Celestial Spirit Magic. That left Lucy nostalgic. Natsu's magic was acting as he had last night: coaxing her magic, being gentle, thinking of her magic first.

Natsu snarled when he realized Lucy was not paying attention to him. She was about to be his mate. She had to obey him. She would be punished for not devoting her attention to him. He took her hands and pinned them above her head, disregarding her shout of his name. That soothed him a little. Only his name was coming out of her mouth, as it should be. He nuzzled her neck, sniffing her. "My mate," he purred. "My Lucy."

Lucy trembled at his words. He spoke as though she was his possession. Maybe male dragons were possessive of their mates. It certainly made sense. Dragons were always greedy creatures. Her thoughts were cut off when she felt Natsu nipping at her chest. She gasped and arched her back.

"Focus! My mate! Answer me!" Natsu roared, biting a little harder on her chest.

Lucy cried out. Such roughness reminded her of Dream Natsu. It frightened her, and yet it made her go made with pleasure. "I'm your mate," she whispered.

Natsu purred, satisfied at her response. He licked at her neck in reward. "Good mate," he rumbled. "My mate."

Lucy shivered as his tongue licked her. She woozily felt his magic and her magic swirl together in an endless dance. His magic was radiating with the need to unite and her magic began feeling the urge as well, making Lucy ache between her legs. She whimpered and crossed her legs together to ease the tension.

Natsu noticed her movements and snarled at her fiercely. "No! Open!" he commanded. He spread Lucy's legs apart, licking his lips. "All mine," he growled to himself. "Kill others who touch. Mine. Mine to lick; mine to suck." He glared at Lucy who writhed underneath his glower. " _Mine_ ," he repeated. "Answer me!"

"Yes, Natsu, its yours," Lucy whispered back, trying to appease him. "No one but you can go there, not even me."

Natsu grinned happily at her answer. He rewarded her by lapping at her thighs. "Good mate," he purred against her.

Lucy moaned and she bucked her hips a little. She sensed her magic was being driven by desire as well as Natsu's magic when she felt her magic comply easily with the fire's whims.

Natsu smirked at her, eyes connecting with hers. "Ready, mate? Ready for me?" He pulled his head down and blew a puff of hot air on her. Lucy cried out and her hips bucked. Her core was aching too much for her to handle and she knew her magic was ready and willing for Natsu's magic to take control and combine them.

Natsu growled loudly at her. "Mate ready?" he demanded. "Answer!"

"Yes!" Lucy exclaimed. "I'm ready, Natsu."

Natsu grinned at her. He crawled on top of her, pleading orbs of chocolate clashing with impatient onyx. He nuzzled Lucy's face and licked her cheek. "Mate ready. Mate ready for me," he purred. "Mate is mine."

"I am yours, always," Lucy declared to him.

Natsu pulled away from her face to nod approvingly at her. She was submitting to him. She knew who was the dominant one. She really was ready for him. Natsu did not give her a warning, but she knew his fire magic was winding around her own magic, prepared to make their union permanent. Natsu positioned himself and thrusted into her, making Lucy shout. She felt woozy with pleasure. It felt so good for him to be back inside her! Her body was already burning from him and she needed more.

Lucy did not have to ask Natsu to move this time. He pulled back and slammed into her, making her back scrape on the ground and her boobs bounce from the force. She felt slight pain in her thighs and her body got warmer. It was strange. It was not her skin that was hot, but inside her that was. She felt like she was dying on the inside due to heat.

Natsu pulled back and thrust into her roughly. His eyes flickered to hers, a snarling grin on his face. "My mate!" he declared proudly. " _Mine!_ " He thrust into her faster, jolting her with each plunge.

Lucy could not meet with each thrust and shouted her pleasure painted in pain. It began to hurt as Natsu frenziedly jackhammered into her and her back was scraping against the land. Heat clawed inside her body, wanting a way out, but there was no way out. With each thrust, her body grew hotter and hotter until her shouts were more in pain than in pleasure.

But she could not help the tingling sensation she was feeling. With each thrust, she knew her senses were overloading. She could feel her thighs tighten and her muscles contract. Oh, but the agony of the heat in her body! She wanted to go into the ocean and cool off, but she knew she could not. Sweat rolled of her body. She could vaguely feel Natsu's fire tightly wind on her magic. Her magic felt giddy from the fire's warmth. That added giddiness only made Lucy's need grow.

"Mate ready," Natsu announced. "Good mate. Mate is ready."

"Natsu, it hurts," Lucy whimpered, wincing. She could already feel the bruises on her thighs. And the heat became unbearable that she was afraid her internal organs would begin to fail. She wanted to pass out, but knew Natsu would not let her. It hurt so much! So why did she feel so needy for him?

Natsu slammed harder into her, making tears spring into Lucy's eyes. He did not notice the tears. He needed release. He needed to mate her. He needed her. He slammed desperately into her, not noticing the yowls of agony coming out of Lucy in-between ragged breaths. He could only feel his fire mingling with his mate's strange star magic. It was nothing he had ever heard of, but it made his mate all the more special. Her magic cried out to his, needing his magic to become hotter so their merge would satisfy it. His fire consented in a heartbeat and heated up. His mate's magic reacted positively and he sensed the strange magic was ready to burst into the sea of flames just like his mate. Natsu knew his fire was already ready to accept the star magic and was about to burst itself. It was only a matter of time.

As Natsu slammed into her again, Lucy began to see black spots. There was too much pain for her to bear; even her body was about to explode onto Natsu. A new batch of tears rained from her eyes. It was all too much. She did not know how much longer she could maintain consciousness. Natsu's thrust into her was the final straw for her senses. She screamed through her tears as her body let go of all the pressure built up. She felt herself contracting on Natsu, milking his length. But the inconceivable pain won against her euphoria of her orgasm. It hurt. She felt weak and faint. She felt too exhausted and anguished to care about her supposedly delirious state. She could feel Natsu harden a little inside her and knew with awaiting dread what would happen.

Natsu did his final thrust into her and he shot off hard. A loud roar erupted in his throat. It sounded not at all like Natsu. It sounded purely like a dragon, animalistic and incomprehensible. He felt his fire burst around his mate's star magic, sending out wave after wave of heat. He splurged inside his mate in a series of painful jolts. He felt smug. His mate would only mate with him. But even as he spluttered inside her, he felt the urge to mark her as his mate. She was his! No man would dare steal her! He pictured the Lion Spirit touching his mate. No. Lucy was Natsu's mate!

" **Mine**!" Natsu roared furiously into the skies. After a few moments, he felt himself stop coming and grew frustrated. It could not be over. He needed more of her. More! He looked down at Lucy, too angry to notice she was sobbing helpless, feebly calling out. His eyes narrowed onto her neck. His human half had kissed that spot many a time. It seemed that was the place he was to Mark. He dipped his lips down onto her skin, moving his lips until he came to a slight dip in-between Lucy's collarbone and neck. This would make Lucy his mate forever. They would be bound together. Forever!

"My mate," Natsu growled. "My Lucy."

He did not kiss the spot. He went straight to the marking her. His teeth grazed her skin then sunk into her, drawing of her blood. He ignored Lucy's scream of agony as he sunk his teeth a little more before abandoning his teeth from her flesh. He sluggishly used his tongue to lap at the blood, satisfaction rippling through him as he felt the connection between him and his mate. Once the blood was gone, he examined it. He saw his two fang marks already fading away do to his licking, but the Mark itself was a hue of dark purple.

Natsu growled. "Mine." He felt the overwhelming sensation of lust as he stared at the Mark. She was his mate now. They were bonded. To see their Mark made him hungry for her again! He felt himself hardening inside her, but needed to quicken the process. He wanted—no, _needed_ —to mate with her.

Quickly, Natsu began licking her nipples, nipping them. He recalled his human side doing the same to his mate and getting her excited. He continued his antics when he heard her moans and felt her clench on him, obviously aroused. That got him harder. Feeling her tightness around him made him want to be her undoing. As he nipped at her chest, he felt her want radiate off her, adding to his own. Too much desire made him ready for her. He needed to release into her. He needed him inside her.

Natsu pulled back and slammed into Lucy at an alarming speed. He was frantic. His need to mate was strong and growing. He growled when he felt Lucy clench on him again.

"Mate ready," Natsu realized through ragged pants. "Mate bound to me. Mate mine! _Mate mine!_ " He heard a small whimper from Lucy then a loud shriek. Her muscles clamped down on him as she came. And that was enough to send him over the edge. " **Mate mine!** " Natsu thundered.

And he exploded in her.

* * *

Lucy screamed when Natsu came. Last night, it would have meant she felt the pressure and reveled in it. But today, it meant she was in pure agony. What she felt inside her burned her. He came hard and it hit her like a brick wall. She saw white when he came furiously. She knew her body was trying to cope with the pain, but each jolt of Natsu was sizzling hot. His own semen hurt her. He was hurting her.

Yet, Lucy still loved Natsu with all her heart.

She could only weep uselessly at her pain and at the pain Natsu would feel tomorrow. She thought fearfully of how he would react tomorrow when he realized what he has done. He would never touch Lucy again. She could see him deciding he could not trust himself with her. He would hide away from her. He would never look at her. He would be scared of her.

"Natsu," Lucy weakly called, trying to gain his attention. But he has busied him with a spot between her collarbone and her neck. Tears flowed freely from her eyes. "Oh, Natsu," she cried.

She felt fangs scrape her skin. The next think she knew Natsu was sinking his fangs into her. Then, rushes of heat consumed her as she felt her body being ripped apart.

She screamed her anguish.

It felt like all of Hell was touching her and pulling her in different directions. She was on fire! She vaguely felt the panic of her keys, but they were not able to do a thing. Her magic had combined with Natsu's magic and it seemed that the fire was doing its best to keep her magic with it. With her body being in such a state, her magic was beginning to withdraw from Natsu's fire.

It was strange, but something else washed over her: wild desire. It made her tremble as her need for Natsu made more tears come out of her eyes. God, how her body hurt and how she needed him now!

She felt Natsu's tongue stop lapping at her neck and he growled words that were barely human. She could still understand him, but her lust for him made her whimper. She felt him playing with her chest, nipping her, licking her, and she moaned, blocking out her pain momentarily to give into her want. She clenched on him, knowing her body wanted release. It was not just release. Her body only wanted Natsu to give her that release.

Natsu suddenly slammed into her in a frenzy, and she could not keep up. Her body was aflame and her eyes were puffy from tears, but she could not help feeling how much Natsu's thrusts made her senses overload. He growled something to her and his growl alone made her whimper. She needed him now.

Without further ado, Lucy felt her muscles contract. She shrieked as she came, relieved the aching pressure she had was gone. She was coming on Natsu, and the thought made her feel like the world was right.

Then Lucy felt Natsu burst inside her.

Her scream died in her throat. It was too much for her. She could not scream away her pain this time. She could not cry again. She could not whimper his name. She could not do anything. Blistering hot pressure filled her almost instantly and began leaking on her inner thighs, making her skin burn. The heat coming in from Natsu was too much for her body to bear. She could not do it.

She saw white then everything turned black.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _I will explain all of this in the final chapter, I promise! But here are the translations!_

 _Translations:_

Tá mé ach leath gan tú _means_ "I am only half without you"

Dan saya setengah tanpaAnda _means "_ And I half without you"

Ag triall ar an domhan, a thabhairt mé leath m'anam a thabhairt duit _means_ "Bound to the world, I give half my soul to you"

An mbeidh tú Fan Le Mise? An mbeidh tú a roinnt ar fud an domhain le liom? _means_ "Will you stay with me? Will you share the world with me?"

Aku akan selalu. Dan akan Anda tinggal dengan saya? Apakah Anda ingin menghabiskan sisa hidup Anda dengan saya bahkan jika aku jatuh buta atau tuli? _means_ "I will always. And will you stay with me? Do you want to spend the rest of your life with me even if I fall blind or deaf?"

Beidh mé i gcónaí _means_ "I will always"


	3. Part III: A Mate's Duty

**Disclaimer: I do not own _Fairy Tail_**

* * *

 **Summary**

Taking place as Lucy and Natsu step into their week of passionate nights, watch as the great dragon and the angel form a union never seen in over four hundred years!

* * *

 **Interlude:**

 **Fairy Love**

 _by_

 **Magnafeana**

* * *

 **Part III  
**

 **A Mate's Duty**

* * *

Everything was wet when she came to. The world submerged her body in water. But it did not feel like water to her. It felt like the coldness of the universe enshrouded her, healing her. She could feel the strength of her magic gaining little by little. It felt refreshing.

Lucy opened her eyes slowly. The first thing her eyes noticed was the darkness. She saw the outline of the trees in the darkness. Stars peeked out, curious as usually. Then she noticed a faint blue glow blow her. Lucy looked down and her eyes widened. She was sitting naked in the universe. From her neck down, her body was submerged in the universe. She saw a supernova explode, causing a neighboring supernova to explode. Another galaxy was being born.

"Took you long enough," came a gruff voice.

Lucy looked up to see someone standing there, pulling whatever she was submerged in and pushing it. She saw long aqua hair and worried blue eyes with traces of annoyance. "Aquarius?" she guessed in a whisper.

Lucy squinted to see it if was real. Aquarius was no longer with her. How could she be alive? However, once Lucy blinked Aquarius was not there for her. Instead, the woman had light pink hair, blood red eyes, and the inability to smile. "Porlyusica?" she wondered.

The healer grunted at her name. "You're awake," she said. "How are you feeling?"

Lucy had to take a second to ask herself that question. How was she feeling? Lucy looked down at what appeared to be the universe and brought up her hand. She inspected it carefully. It seemed okay and could move properly. She put her hand back in the universe. She tried moving the rest of her body and felt no pain. They had not even felt stiff. She felt energy coursing through her veins.

"I feel great," Lucy admitted honestly. She looked back at Porlyusica. "But what is this stuff?"

Porlyusica narrowed her eyes at the pool. "When you completed the mating ceremony, your body passed out, according to your spirits. Your magic, however, bonded with Natsu's magic and was frantic about losing you. It alerted your spirits of your unconscious state, but moving you too early would have broken you. They had to wait until the ruins deactivated to capture you. Loke went to the Celestial Spirit King and pleaded for help." Porlyusica paused to give Lucy a peculiar look. "Apparently, you and the King are friends." She sounded in disbelief at the statement.

Lucy smiled shyly. "Yes, we are," she verified.

Porlyusica studied her a moment longer then continued with the story. "The King granted your spirits access to their special healing water. Normally, it would kill a human even if their power were of Celestial Magic. But instead, the healing water accepted you. Your spirits and Natsu watched over you until I arrived then went back to the Celestial Realm. They saved you."

Lucy felt so thankful to her spirits. They cared that much for her. They wanted her safe. She would have to make a note to thank the Celestial Spirit King one day. A dull pain ached in her chest. She would do it without breaking a key this time. A thought crossed her mind and she looked at the old healer in confusion. "You came here? How? Why?" Lucy asked.

"The fool Makarov and the idiot boy knew you would get hurt," Porlyusica explained. "Makarov felt a power surge on Tenrou and alerted me. He made sure to make up a liable excuse to the public when they saw a hurricane of orange and gold."

Lucy was stunned. People could see it from that far away?

"I got on a boat, but the magic power was so much, I had to stay at the docks longer than anticipated. I brought medicine for you, but having you soak like this healed you faster and restored your strength to its prime and maybe more."

Lucy nodded, staring down at water. It was true that she healed. Her body was no longer blazing, no longer burning, no longer bruised. Hesitantly, she felt her magic. It still felt free and pure as before. But she felt something surrounding her magic. There was a sprinkle of orange somewhere. It showered her magic, protective and passionately loving. She felt gentle warmth in contrast to her coolness.

A hand went up to a small dip before her neck in panic. Lucy felt a jolt electrify her body. A wave of lust engulfed her for a moment. Then images of the person she wanted. Sincere onyx eyes, a carefree grin, the feeling of the warming sun on her skin, blazing flames, a thunderous roar, determination. Natsu.

"Be careful! That Mark you have is sensitive," Porlyusica warned.

"Where's Natsu?" Lucy demanded frantically.

Porlyusica sighed. "He's getting your room ready in my hut. He was watching over you earlier."

"You have your own house here?" Lucy asked, incredulous.

"It's the same as the hut I have in Magnolia, yes," Porlyusica revealed. "It hasn't been used in a long time, but I cleaned it out while you healed, which you should be done by now." She looked at Lucy closer, eyes narrowing. "You thought he would abandon you, didn't you? You were afraid he would leave you and never touch you."

Lucy did not answer. She only looked into the pool of the stars.

Porlyusica looked softly at the Celestial Mage. "Lucy, Natsu could not have left the island," she informed her. "You two have only just mated. From what Levy McGarden informed myself and Makarov, new mates cannot abandon their mates in this state."

Lucy looked at Porlyusica, eyes hollow with a twinge of confusion. "But… Natsu said—"

"What Natsu said is true," Porlyusica cut in. "Mates can be abandoned. However, that is only when mating is for just sex. When Natsu did the mating ceremony, he made it clear that this mating was to be bound forever. He marked you as well," she pointed out. "Marking happens between dragons when they are certain they are lifelong partners with their mates." Porlyusica sighed, shaking her head. "When a dragon marks their mate, they cannot leave their mates at all due to the strain of their bond."

"I don't understand either," Porlyusica continued. There was an undertone of aggravation in voice. "I can't ask you what happened during the mating ceremony and I don't want you to tell me," she added when Lucy opened her mouth. "The ritual is sacred between two mates and it is forbidden to speak of it to outsiders. But whatever happened, I can assure you that idiot boy loves you unconditionally and will never let you go."

A smile crept onto Lucy's face. Natsu would never leave her. She had nothing to fear. Natsu would be beside her always at their best and worse times. He never ran away from his problems, but faced them head-on. And he would never run away from her.

A curious thought came to Lucy. "What would happen if he tried running away from me?" she wondered.

A dark look came over Porlyusica in an instant. "But if he denied himself you rather than accepting it, his dragon side would eventually overtake him and would find you. He would kill anything in the way to get with you. You think this mating was bad?" she asked coldly and Lucy paled considerably. "When he would find you, it would be worse. You would not just fall unconscious. You would die. The bond would be broken and he would die as well."

A tear dripped onto Lucy's cheek. The severity of keeping away from a mate was more than Lucy thought.

"A dragon ripped of a bond is useless," Porlyusica continued. "He would die. Even if he did pull through, he would never be able to use his magic because his dragon side is dead. His human side would become weak and helpless, unable to eat and drink. He would die of starvation and grief."

"Stop," Lucy pleaded quietly.

Porlyusica paused and looked at Lucy's eyes already shedding tears of sadness and pain. "Don't worry. It will never happen to you and him," she assured gruffly. "Natsu loves you as his wife, friend, and mate. He needs you. In his love for you, in his want for you, he needs you," Porlyusica said.

"Is it all due to the Mark?" Lucy asked.

Porlyusica shook her head. "The idiot boy loves you. I know he hates to stay away from you. The Mark is just amplifying that feeling to be close to you."

"And because I'm not a Dragon Slayer, I don't feel the Mark's pull," Lucy realized.

Porlyusica cocked her head again. "You can't give him the same Mark he gave you, no. The Mark still affects you. Maybe it will make you more emotional when you touch it or will make you want Natsu. I don't know. I did a fair bit of research to do on dragons with little result."

"It's fine. Thank you, Porlyusica," Lucy appreciated.

"Don't thank me," Porlyusica denied. "Thank Makarov and your idiot husband for thinking about you."

Lucy nodded. She felt her heart soften at that. Natsu was always looking out for her. And to see the Master worried about her made her smile. He really was like the father she never had. Once she and Natsu returned to Fairy Tail, she would most certainly have to thank the Master for all his help and concern.

"All right, let's get you in my hut. It's close by," Porlyusica said. "Natsu has clothes for you and your keys."

Lucy nodded. She moved to stand up in the water. Rather than wincing and feeling sore, she felt rejuvenated. She stood up in the water, the universe dripping off her skin. She looked at her body. It looked flawless and glowed. She looked normal. She felt normal. She took a tentative step out of the pool then another, leaving behind the healing water. The air was surprisingly warm at such a time during the night. It felt soothing. Like Natsu.

A towel was in Lucy's face and she accepted it graciously, wrapping it around her body. "What happens to the healing water?" she wondered.

"How am I supposed to know? I don't have the answers to everything," Porlyusica seethed suddenly, stalking away.

Lucy smiled. That sounded like the Porlyusica she knew: moody and always irate. Lucy followed her into the woods. Natsu was there, waiting for her. It was a little disappointing that he was not there when she woke up, but he was here nonetheless. He still wanted her. He would endlessly want and love her. That made her giddy. Out of all people, Natsu chose her as his partner, her as his best friend, her as his girlfriend, her as his wife, her as his lover, her as his mate. Lucy knew she had nothing to fear with Natsu abandoning her because he never would.

"You know, Dragon Slayers have a lot more to fear if their mate is human," Porlyusica said randomly.

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"A bound Dragon Slayer is tied to their mate through love, through souls, through sex. Like a dragon, they can never leave their mate. However, if their mate is human, the human is not bound to the Dragon Slayer. The human is free to be with anyone they desire even after the mating. Granted the Dragon Slayer will kill anyone who dare mates with their mate, but humans are left with their free will to love anyone intact."

"Natsu knows I would never leave him," Lucy said confidently. "We trust each other."

"That's why your relationship is unique," Porlyusica said. "Not only is this the first time in over four hundred years a Dragon Slayer and human have mated, but the love and trust you two have is something rare, something valuable. It is what all Dragon Slayers one day wish to have."

"I hope they do," Lucy wished quietly. Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, and Wendy already had someone in their lives. Lucy could see the way Gajeel would subtly look after her. She could see Yukino become Sting's center of attention when they were together. She could see Rogue's affection toward the reformed Minerva. She could hear Wendy and Romeo making lovers' promises as she and Natsu did when they were younger. Even Erik sacrificed his freedom for Kinana and Laxus worked up his courage to propose to Mira. All of the Dragon Slayers deserved eternal happiness.

Lucy shivered under her towel. She missed Natsu's warmth. She missed his arms around her. She missed his teasing. She missed him.

"Don't be look like that, girl. He's waiting for you."

Lucy's eyes snapped onto Porlyusica, who kept her silent trek. Lucy gave a small smile and her eyes held her happiness. "Thank you, Porlyusica," she said again, even when she knew no accepting of her gratitude would come.

Porlyusica led Lucy up to Siamese trees. Both were large, but their girths connected. A replica of the door to Porlyusica's Magnolian home was the trees and there were a few carved out windows. Porlyusica opened the door and held it for Lucy. Without hesitation, Lucy padded into the darkness. She heard Porlyusica mutter a spell under her breath and light flooded into the hut. The room looked comfortable with shelf upon shelf of medicines and rubs and bandages. There was a small kitchen against the sidewall and bookshelves crammed with healing novels on the opposing wall.

Porlyusica brushed past Lucy and led her to a large hole in the back of the room. To the right was a small hallway with two doors and to the left were stairs carved out from the tree. Porlyusica pointed to the small hallway. "Left is your room with Natsu. You had quite collection of clothes in your cottage so Natsu brought a few down. Right is the bathroom."

Lucy nodded. "Got it."

"I will be upstairs," Porlyusica said. "From my guess, that healing water cured you're hungry and thirst, but the kitchen has food. Don't touch any of my remedies."

"How long are you staying here?" Lucy wondered.

"For tonight. Then I leave," Porlyusica said brusquely. "If you aren't comfortable at the cottage, I'll let you stay here. Good night."

"Good night!" Lucy farewelled. Porlyusica ignored her adieu and climbed the stairs swiftly as though she had somewhere better to be.

Lucy sighed and turned to the small hallway. She walked a few steps to the bedroom door and opened it. Her hand groped for a light switch on the wall. Once she found it, she flicked it on. The room looked a bit old-fashioned, but it was definitely better than returning to the cottage. The bed in the bedroom was large with a worn out quilt and a few large pillows. A familiar key ring with numerous keys attached lied on the belly of the bed. A nightstand and a lamp were next to it. A small desk and chair was shoved in the corner by a carved out window. The dresser was on the wall opposite of the bed with a majestic wardrobe next to it. Lucy could tell Porlyusica had prepared the room for her with a quick dusting and sweeping.

Lucy felt a pang of disappointment. There was still no Natsu. She could feel he had been in the room, but he was not there in the room at the moment as she expected. She sighed. Oh well. He would show up eventually.

Lucy darted to the bed and plopped on it, grabbing her keys. She thumbed each key with a smile on her face. "Thank you. All of you," she said. "You risked it to save me. I'm lucky to have you all as friends."

A soft glow emitted from her keys as though accepting her gratitude. Her hand stopped over a key that belonged to the man who never would leave her. The man who led the Golden Zodiacs.

She pointed the key in front of her. "Ope—!"

A flash of gold erupted before Lucy. A pair of strong arms tackled her onto the bed and she felt the power and warmth behind them. She heard sniffling. Lucy laughed quietly and hugged him back. "Hey Loke."

"I thought you were gone," Loke whispered hoarsely. "I—I thought we lost you! You're magic nearly left your body, Lucy! You could have died! You—…! You—…!" Loke's shoulders trembled.

Lucy consoling rubbed his back. "It's okay, Loke. I'm here. I'm right here."

"You shouldn't even still be here," Loke said. He pulled away from her. His tinted shades did his eyes no justice, but Lucy saw tears flowing down his cheeks. He looked so shaken, so lost. "With all that you went through, I just don't understand." A hand reached out to touch Lucy's cheeks. She smiled when she felt his shaking fingers. "But you're alive. You're here. You're with me. You're alive," he realized.

Lucy touched his hand, pressing it into her cheek. Her brown eyes were gentle and warm. "I am," she agreed. "I'm right here with you, Loke. I'm here."

Loke wiped away his tears, sniffling while doing so. "Can't cry. Ladies hate criers." He paused. "Though I guess some women like the sensitive type," he joked with a watery chuckle.

Lucy shook her head good-naturedly. "You and women, Loke. I swear some girl's father will track you down."

Loke grinned. "Good thing I'm basically immortal." His grin faltered and his eyes went back to their sad state. "Lucy," he murmured, "I need to know."

Lucy sobered, understanding his meaning. "What do you want to know?" she asked.

"What the Hell happened back there?" Loke exclaimed. "I could feel Natsu's fire around me and heard the spirits singing back to Natsu's magic, but then after that? Lucy, your body couldn't take it anymore! And I—…! I wasn't allowed to protect you!" He was trembling again. "I failed… I couldn't protect the one master—the one friend—that's given me everything a spirit could ask for!"

"Wait," Lucy stopped. Her expression morphed into that of confusion. "What do you mean you couldn't protect me?" she asked.

"If we all jumped in to help you, we would have interrupted your flow of magic, and doing that could have gotten you hurt." Loke grimaced. "And in Natsu's state, he would've tried to kill us."

Lucy scoffed at that. "Natsu knows you all. He wouldn't kill you. He's friends with you."

"Did you not see his dragon side?" Loke questioned, incredulous. Lucy averted her eyes to her lap and nodded. Loke looked at her with wide eyes. "He didn't tell you."

Lucy abruptly looked at Loke, eyes puzzled. "Tell me what?" she demanded.

Loke sighed. He set himself on the bed, in a spot on Lucy's left. He ran a hand through his mane of dirty blonde hair. "Lucy," he began, "the humans may have destroyed every book about dragons, but the still exist in the Celestial Realm's library. It's usually spirits like Crux who even go in there, but I went there after the whole Acnologia thing." He frowned. Lucy saw his hand tense as though itching to become a fist. "Male dragons are monsters when they mate. They control their female. They force their female to surrender themselves to their male. Males will even punish their female should the female disagree during the mating."

Lucy nodded regardless it was not necessary. She knew that much without reading. She remembered hearing Natsu's voice demand she answer him, punishing her with nips and rewarding her with licks. The type of controlling aggression he used was not something she ever saw in him.

Loke went on: "That's not it. Male dragons that Mark their mate are deadly. Natsu would kill anyone no matter what as long as they tried interrupting. We spirits may be immortal, but we can still get hurt. And Natsu would have definitely hurt us. That's no question."

Silence enveloped the two. Loke stared at the floor while Lucy absently stared at her lap. She took in Loke's words. Natsu would have attempted murder in her spirits—or anyone—just to continue the mating. The thought of Natsu killing her spirits made her blood boil. He would have to kill her to kill them and that was never going to happen. The thought of death brought up another fact: she could have died. Lucy winced when she remembered all the burning pain she felt. Natsu warned her about how much she could get hurt and she brushed off his concerns. But now she understood. She understood his reason for being scared. The mating was ruthless. It was obvious his dragon cared for her as his mate, but he mated with her as he would with another Dragon Slayer. To him, such aggression was in his blood; it was normal. But to her, such aggression could kill. And yet even after all that, Lucy loved Natsu. She would always love him. She wanted to be with him, and he wanted to be with her.

But just where was he?

Loke suddenly stiffened, making Lucy look at him curiously, but he relaxed a moment later. "Why don't you go change into your pajamas?" Loke suggested. "The spirits can feel how you're doing, but I'll go back and tell them how you are."

Lucy nodded again. "Okay."

Loke put a hand on Lucy's cheek, rubbing a thumb on her skin. "I just want to make my princess happy again. She always looks the most beautiful of them all when she smiles. Of course"—Loke smirked—"she looks the sexiest when she's angry."

Lucy let out a shaky laugh, pushing him away. "Just go, you perv. And I'll have you know I look sexy anytime of the day, anywhere."

Loke shot her a sly look. "Mind if we test that theory? Maybe get you in the shower—?"

"Married, Loke," Lucy reminded.

Loke stood up and winked at her. "For now." Lucy laughed. "I'll be here whenever you need me, Lucy." He reached out a hand and Lucy took it, grasping on it tightly. Loke smiled softly at her then disappeared in a shimmering light.

Lucy's smile dropped back into a frown. Natsu was still not there. She sighed. Maybe it was time for her to get some sleep. Lucy got up and went over to the wardrobe. She opened it and was surprised when she saw the closet full of her clothes from the cottage. She let her towel slip off as she looked for decent pajamas.

She saw an old purple t-shirt with a theme park logo she got on a mission watching a rich kid at a "commoner" amusement park. Lucy nicked it off the wrack and examined it. She smiled at the memories the shirt had. It was a mission only Natsu and her took, Happy opting to take a mission with Wendy and Carla. The rich kid the couple watched over was snooty and demanding, but learned he could not be such around "commoners" and eased into the persona of a regular kid. Lucy had to become the mother of him and Natsu when they ran off to eat more than they could handle, hurt themselves, and played childish games ending in argument. Only once did the kid run away in anger to which Natsu easily snuffed him out and reprimanded him. Many people complimented Natsu and Lucy on having such a handsome son. The rich kid did have flint eyes and golden hair. Lucy tried to explain, but Natsu and the kid played along. By the end of the night, the kid fell asleep on Lucy's shoulder on the carriage ride to his family's mansion. He woke up when they passed him off to his nanny and sleepily pleaded for the two to come back and take him out again, earning a solemn promise from Natsu and Lucy.

On the train ride to Magnolia, Lucy could remember Natsu's words: _"You know I hope, one day, we have a kid as cool as that. You would make a great mom, Lucy."_

Lucy slipped on the shirt, feeling no need for a bra. The shirt was large on her, coming down to mid-thigh. She walked to her dresser for underwear. Children were a concept Lucy and Natsu had discussed, but barely agreed on. He loved kids and as did she. He wanted a big family and as did she. However, he wanted kids soon while Lucy wanted to wait. She wanted to go around Earth Land and explore before children came into the picture. Lisanna had confessed she was thinking about having kids with Bixslow right away, saying she was not getting any younger. Lucy agreed, but still wanted to wait for kids.

Lucy pulled out a dresser and found a couple panties stuffed inside. She grabbed a random one and slipped it on under her shirt. A wild breeze fluttered into the room, ruffling her shirt. Lucy turned to the carved-out window. Slowly, she walked over to it, peering into the darkness. Nothing but trees and lightning bugs were outside. She looked up at the night sky. Stars glittered the quilt of blue, some outshining others. It still captivated her how the sky could paint such a wonderful painting. The stars never failed to light the way for the moon as she slowly walked the skies, ignoring the waves' cries for her attention. How beautiful.

A summer breeze swirled around Lucy, ruffling her hair. She closed her eyes, accepting as the breeze spun around her then moved on. "Natsu," she hummed.

"I love it when you call my name like that," came a soft voice.

Lucy opened her eyes in shock to see Natsu standing in front of her, grin and all. His grin looked a little forced and his loving eyes hid his true emotions, but he was there nevertheless. She opened her mouth and worked it several times but could not get a clear word out.

"Mind if I come in?" Natsu asked gently.

Lucy slowly moved back to give Natsu space. He expertly hopped onto the ledge before jumping down from the ledge to the floor. He stood to his full height. It was just they, staring at each other. No words. No movement. Just silence. Just staring.

"You weren't there," came Lucy's quiet words.

Natsu looked ashamed of himself when his eyebrows slammed together and his eyes held remorse. "I'm so sorry, Lucy. Gramps and I had to do a mirror conference back at the cabin and it took longer than I thought. I wanted to be the first one you saw when you woke up, believe me!" he insisted.

"I do," Lucy whispered. "More than you know."

Natsu nodded and his eyes went to the ground. Lucy saw his fists clenched. He looked tense. Lucy knew it. He was too hesitant, too scared to approach her. He was punishing himself. He thought he would hurt her again.

"Natsu," Lucy said softly, "look at me."

Natsu did not do as he was told. Instead, he gritted his teeth. "I can't," he growled.

"Why?" was Lucy's question.

"I just—… I try so hard to protect you and I hurt you. I could have _killed_ you, Lucy. But all I want to do is go over to you and make love to you again and again," Natsu whispered. "But I can't."

"Natsu, please look at me," Lucy pleaded, taking slow steps to him.

"I don't deserve to," Natsu bit back. "I don't deserve to touch you."

"Natsu," Lucy begged, standing before him. She took her hands and put them on his cheeks, guiding his face toward hers. She could see those eyes she adored. They were torn between self-loathing and desire, pain and pleasure. He was fighting his instincts.

"Even just this makes me want to kiss you," Natsu said to her quietly.

"Then do it," Lucy challenged.

Natsu tried to interject, as he looked frantic by her request. "Lucy—"

"Natsu, I want you to kiss me," Lucy demanded. "I want you to make love to me. I want you to want me again."

Fire was lit in those onyx pools. "I will always and only want you," Natsu promised her solemnly.

Lucy smiled. No doubt he was honest. "Good. Then show me."

Before Natsu could accept or reject her offer, Lucy brought him into a well-needed kiss. She moved her hands to his hair as she moved her lips against his. Natsu showed no hesitation as he sunk into the kiss and his hands went to her waist, pulling her closer. The kiss was filled with uncapped love and heated craving. The kiss was urgent. The two needed to feel the other.

Natsu broke the kiss to trail kisses along Lucy's jaw. His lips left a scorching trail as he moved down Lucy's neck, making her hum in pleasure. Once Natsu's lips kissed the Mark, Lucy's eyes shot open as wild need electrified her and made desire pull at her lower stomach. She felt a throbbing between her legs. She wanted Natsu to be the one to help her release it. She needed him.

"Natsu," Lucy breathed in his ear in a husky tone. "Bed. _Now_."

Natsu wasted no time picking up Lucy in his arms and carrying her over to their bed. Both were frantic about their kisses, desperate, needy. Before either knew it, Lucy was laid on the bed, and Natsu climbed on top of her. Their lips parted from each other as they rushed. Before Lucy had time to drag Natsu's lips back to her, Natsu showered Lucy neck in fiery caresses. Lucy instinctively ran her hands through his hair, sighing his name. Natsu roughly kissed the Mark on Lucy's neck.

" _Natsu!"_ Lucy gasped. A shock of pleasure jolted her. The throbbing in her core made her whimper. It hurt to be so aroused. Thoughts ran through her head. Nights of Natsu covering her body in kisses. Nights of Natsu licking the length of her sex. Nights of Natsu asking her what felt good as he tried new moves that made her toes curl at the moment. Just those memories made Lucy moan and want Natsu more.

Natsu understood Lucy's pain. He felt the instinct to make love to her, to mate her, to mark her once more. Her scent was so delicious. Her skin was sensitive to his touches and his alone. He felt possession take over him when he kissed her Mark. She was his. And he was hers. It pleased him in more ways than she would ever know that he could only feel this way with her. He would always want her. He would always love her. He would always need her.

Natsu was quick to try and tear the shirt off Lucy's body, but she stopped him. "Not this shirt," she begged. "Just let me get it off."

Natsu growled, inpatient, but crawled off her. "Fine," he agreed reluctantly.

Lucy quickly sat up and grabbed the hem of her shirt to pull it up and left it over her head. The minute the shirt was off and she threw it to the floor, Natsu forced her onto her back. His mouth attacked her chest in a series of kisses. With each kiss, lick, and nip, Lucy groaned, clawing Natsu's hair. God, how she missed him!

"Clothes off," Lucy demanded breathlessly as the ache between her legs worsened.

Natsu complied, moving off the bed to shed his shirt and scarf. His eyes remained on Lucy as she lay before him, face flushed in arousal and chest heaving. It burned him to see the raw hunger in her eyes. She looked like a ferocious lioness, eying her mate. He knew he must have looked like a starved dragon in her eyes, but to see her want him that much made him growl in approval. But it made his cock twitch painfully.

Lucy watched as Natsu threw his vest and scarf aside, working on his pants. She knew she had more patience than he, but her ache hurt! A hand went to her panties. She slowly rubbed herself and groaned at the relief she felt. This was what she needed!

" _No!_ " Natsu roared. He grew furious when he saw Lucy touch herself as he kicked off his pants. Only he was allowed to touch her there. "Lucy, _no_!"

Lucy reluctantly withdrew her hand, looking at Natsu through hazy eyes heavy with longing. "But it hurts," she insisted.

Natsu easily discarded his boxers. "Then let me help make it better," he suggested. He began to crawl back on the bed. He went in-between Lucy's legs, hit with her smell of arousal. He knew her smell made his mind go blank with lust, but this was different. Before, the craving he felt was to please her, to lap up her sensual juices, to tease her with his fingers. But her smell made him buck his hips. He needed to be inside her. He knew he would explode from her smell alone if he were not fast enough.

Natsu tore off Lucy's underwear, throwing the ripped panties somewhere in the room. He salivated at the sight of her wetness. He would never stop loving that sight. Maybe he had a little time for pleasure. He dove in to give her wet lips a rough kiss.

Lucy cried out at Natsu's mouth. Unlike those teasing caresses he gave her nether lips, this was rough and frenzied. Her nerves were set on edge and she wanted let go of all the recoiled tension. She felt Natsu begin tonguing her, the tip of his tongue flicking her bundle of nerves. He began to move his lips upon her wet ones and a deep growl rumbled in his throat, vibrating against her. She felt herself clench at that. This was so much!

" _Natsu!_ " Lucy cried.

Natsu pulled away from her in an instant to climb on top her, giving her hot skin butterfly kisses. He glanced down to make sure he was in the right position before pulling back his hips and thrusting into her.

It was just what the two of them needed.

Natsu and Lucy groaned as he sank into her. Lucy welcomed him by clenching on him instantly. Natsu gritted his teeth as he went deeper. She was closing in on him. It felt so good. It felt so right.

Then he began to move.

It was nothing like their first time. He was not going to go slow. Their nerves were high strung and both were desperate for release. He thrusted into her bruisingly fast and forced the bed to bounce with every slap of skin. The mattress was old and the squeak of bedspring pierced through the room, but neither cared. Lucy's moans were the only thing for Natsu cared. His mouth latched onto one of her breast and he bit a little at the nipple. He felt overjoyed and even smug about Lucy's pants. He was the one making her so breathless, so tight. God, was she tight!

" _Natsu, Natsu, Natsu,_ " Lucy chanted like an incantation, overwhelmed by his roughness. She felt tension coil in her lower stomach. Feeling him plunge into her was a sensation she could not describe! She heard from a blushing Levy that going rough during sex was always hotter and now she understood the reason. She did like to take it slow, but at such a fast pace, everything was so much more thrilling! She just needed to rel—

Natsu accidentally pressed on the spot on her lower stomach.

Lucy screamed as her muscles contracted.

Natsu felt ecstatic when Lucy came, screaming his name. His name. He loved it when she said it. She could just be casually saying his name in greeting and it aroused him. But hearing her scream it was the absolute most amazing way she could say it. He felt her milking him, tightening around his length as he thrust into her. It felt breathtaking! It turned him on even more.

Natsu knew he was going to come. He felt himself losing his resilience. He had been fighting not to lose himself within the first second of being inside Lucy, but he knew he had to give up the fight. He could feel himself starting to come. Just before he came, his mouth left Lucy's chest and found Lucy's Mark.

He bit down on it again. _Hard_.

" _Natsu!"_

Two things happened.

Natsu spluttered into her in a series of jolts.

Lucy burst into a powerful orgasm.

Both of them nearly blacked-out from their release. They were frozen in throes of their orgasms. Some of their combined sensual juices seeped onto Lucy's inner thighs and the comforter. However, neither cared. They were too wrapped in their relief.

Lucy eventually climbed down from her orgasmic high. She felt weak and boneless as she stared at the ceiling with blurry eyes. Natsu felt as if his strength was depleted. His head came down to rest on Lucy's chest, panting heavily.

"That…was…" Natsu tried to say in-between pants.

Lucy didn't need him to finish to understand him. "Yeah," she said dreamily. "It was."

Both stayed in their position for a few more moments. It was just them. Together. Just as it would always be.

Natsu tiredly raised his head from Lucy's chest to give her a weak grin. "Lucy, you're really loud," he commented.

Lucy smiled back at him the best she could. "I know. The landlady told me the people in my old building voiced their complaints, remember?" she reminded him.

Natsu chuckled as he brought a hand to Lucy's cheek, rubbing it with his thumb. Lucy purred in contentment. "You know, as long as it's me making you that loud, I don't give a damn what they say."

Lucy hummed her agreement. "I'm glad. But you're going to make me lose my voice," she joked good-naturedly.

Natsu did his best to shrug. "If you lose your voice to screaming my name, I can live with that," he decided. He hesitated, onyx eyes wavering in uncertainty. "Lucy," he started.

Lucy sighed. She had wanted to talk before, but after such a heated make-out session, she wanted him to make love to her more. She new they had to talk eventually. "I know, I know. But could you please pull out first so you can lie with me?" she suggested.

Natsu looked down to see them connected and then back to Lucy to give her a sheepish smile. "Sorry," he apologized.

Lucy laughed. "You seem to keep for forgetting," she pointed out.

"It just feels so natural," Natsu confessed, a blush on his cheeks as he looked away from Lucy's amused stare. "Ah crap, I'm saying weird stuff again—"

"Natsu," Lucy said gently. A soft hand touched Natsu's cheek and guided him back to her, soft hazel staring into embarrassed onyx. She smiled at him. "I know what you mean. It feels"—Lucy blushed—" _natural_ having you inside me."

"See? It's embarrassing to say!" Natsu insisted.

Lucy playfully scowled at him. "Would you just pull out?" she ordered, looking away from him.

Natsu laughed, but made no remark. He looked down as he carefully pulled out. He flicked his eyes toward Lucy, but her eyes were closed and she looked relaxed. Natsu smiled to himself. He could get used to that look after their future passionate lovemaking sessions. Seeing her so tranquil made him instantly happy. _She_ was his happiness. He pulled the rest of himself out. He carefully moved out from between Lucy's legs and fell into the space to her right.

As he wrapped an arm around her shoulders, Lucy turned on her side to face him. She sighed through her nose and opened her eyes, chocolate clashing with onyx. Lucy smiled. "Hi."

Natsu grinned. "Hey." His grin dropped into something more nervous. "Listen, Lucy, about our mating…"

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "What about it?" She shot him a panicked look. "Did something go wrong?"

Natsu was quick to shush her. "Nothing went wrong," he assured. "Actually, everything went _really_ good. From what I know about mating, it is never _that_ compatible. Only the best mates can combine magic like that."

Lucy smiled brightly. "So we really are good for each other," she determined.

"Hell yeah we are! But"—Natsu sighed—"Lucy, I just need you to understand about the mating. I should have explained it earlier."

"Porlyusica explained some of it to me," Lucy intervened.

Natsu nodded. "I was hoping she would," he admitted. He squeezed his eyes shut and gritted his teeth. "There aren't enough sorries in the world to tell you how much I'm sorry. I hurt you. And I can never forgive myself for what I did to you."

Lucy put a comforting hand on his cheek. "Natsu," she started.

"But I will try to accept it," Natsu finished, cutting her off. He opened his eyes. Reflecting in the pools of flint with jade sprinkled was a fire of determination. There was slight remorse, but the determination outshone it. "I may not be able to forgive myself, but I'll try to accept what I did."

"And I'll be there to help you," Lucy vowed. "We're in this together, mates or not. You're still my best friend, Natsu. I'm always going to be here for you."

Natsu smiled lightly. "I'm glad. You're still my best friend too." He took a deep breath and sighed loudly. "All right, that's enough of me gettin' soft."

Lucy pouted mockingly. "Aw. The big bad demon boy is going soft for me? I should be honored," she teased.

Natsu stuck his tongue out at her. "You should. I would never do this for anyone beside you."

Lucy rolled her eyes. "Oh, how lucky am I," she murmured.

For the next few moments, the two were silent. Natsu took to stroking Lucy's side. His eyes wandered around her body at every curve and edge. He appreciated her. He loved her. He would never stop loving the angel lying next to him. Lucy felt soothed with Natsu's soft strokes and sighed blissfully, closing her eyes. They did not have to say any words. They were just two people caught in a lover's embrace. They were Natsu and Lucy, the couple who survived Heaven and high water—together.

Lucy suddenly spoke up. "Natsu, what exactly does all this Mark stuff mean?" she asked.

Natsu groaned, but didn't stop stroking Lucy's side. "Damn it! I _knew_ I was missing something!" Natsu drew his hand up to Lucy's hair and tucked her golden locks behind her ear. He looked at the dark spot on Lucy's neck lovingly, a smile coming to his lips.

"Porlyusica explained a little bit about Marks to me," Lucy added. "But I want to hear it from you."

Natsu sighed. "A Mark is something dragons give to their mates to tell everyone else, 'that dragon is mine, not yours, so don't touch them'. The Mark I gave you tells others Slayers you're my mate and my mate alone. No one else can touch you but me."

"Porlyusica told me human mates can still be with whomever though," Lucy pointed out.

That made Natsu's eyes harden. "I know," he growled. "And it _sucks_. No other Dragon Slayer can touch you, but any regular guys can." He tensed. "It burns me up just thinking about other guys touching you."

Lucy saw anger contort in Natsu's eyes and was quick to pacify him. "No one but you will ever touch me," she guaranteed softly. "I promise. I only want you, Natsu."

Natsu's anger dissipated in an instant. Her assurance calmed him back to his normal self. "Good. Because I _hate_ sharing my things," he said.

Lucy raised an eyebrow, a grin tugging on her lips. "Oh, so I'm one of your 'things'?"

Natsu nodded proudly. "Damn right! Just like I'm one of yours, so it's fair. I don't have to share you, and you don't have to share me." He wrinkled his nose. "I mean I heard about those threesome-type things."

Lucy looked at him with wide eyes. "You mean you want a"—red covered her cheeks—"threesome?" She said the word carefully, almost as though someone would overhear.

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows. "Nah, they sound funny. And none of it adds up as to how it happens. I'd rather just be having sex with you. It'd be too awkward with someone else with us. And they'd touch you." He tensed again, and Lucy saw the flash of jealousy and possession in his eyes. "No one but me gets to touch you."

"I know. You've reminded me more than once," Lucy laughed. "And I get what you mean. But I get what you mean. Stuff like that is weird. I guess people are into kinky stuff like that."

"Oh! Speaking of kinky, Cana said one night I'm supposed to tie you to the bed. She said it'd make sex a lot hotter."

Lucy's face drained of color, as her eyes grew wide. "Cana…said that, huh?" she asked in an absent tone.

Natsu didn't seem to understand. "Yeah. It was weird too. Why would I tie you in chains? You wouldn't be able to touch me. And I love it when you touch me."

Lucy merely blinked. "Yeah," she said in a faraway tone.

Natsu still kept going. "But then Gray added that you could tie me to the bed. But that would suck too because I wouldn't be able to kiss you or touch you or lick you," he listed.

Thoughts instantly swamped Lucy. She remembered the rough kiss Natsu gave her sex earlier. She remembered his tongue stabbing into her, making her groan. She remembered him using his fingers to excite her, thrusting in and out of her at whatever pace he desire. Oh, just the thought made her squirm. She felt a pull in her lower stomach and a throbbing between her legs. Lucy's eyes fluttered shut as she imagined Natsu caressing her inner thighs while rubbing her clit. Such a wondrous fantasy…

Natsu grinned when he smelt Lucy's scent. He knew just that would arouse her. Cana was right: talking about kinky stuff like that would get Lucy wet. He didn't need to add all the theatrics like the "husky tone" Loke recommended using when dirty talking. Just being him seemed to make Lucy squirm and he loved it.

Natsu watched Lucy's hand begin to move down. But before he could snap at her, her hand went straight to his length and he froze. It was a little hard, but he knew it was not the throbbing erection Lucy wanted. He looked down to watch as Lucy began to stroke his length slowly, gently rubbing her thumb around him. Just the sensation made him grow hard under her touch. He gritted his teeth to stop moaning. But God, how he wanted to moan! He thrust a little into her hand when she slowed her pace. He needed friction. He needed her to go faster.

Lucy smiled and opened her eyes. Natsu cursed. That seductive, hazy look in her brown eyes got him all fired up. "Not so fast, _Natsu_." He shivered when she hissed his name in a low drawl. What this woman did to him…

Lucy smirked at Natsu's reaction, rewarding him with her other hand. They languidly traced his length in nonexistent shapes and she loved feeling him grow hard from his touch. Carefully, she let go of his cock to trace his V-line. She felt a shiver go down his body and his head begin to flare. His cock was curving upward for her.

Lust penetrated Natsu's eyes, battling his love. He looked at Lucy with an expression that made her thighs quiver. "I never thought watching you give me a boner would be hot," he confessed.

"We've never done this before?" Lucy inquired, surprised. It still surprised her they were able to wait until marriage before sex with everything they had done in the past.

Natsu did his best to shake his head, letting out a breathy sigh when Lucy pressed into the skin of his lower stomach a little harder. He knew the blood was rushing down to his cock. "N-No, we never did," he answered. "Usually, I was already hot for you and we w-worked it off."

Lucy had to agree. Even while she was in the shower and Natsu wanted to join her, his head would be flared and she would help him with her mouth against her titled walls. An idea popped in her head. Slowly, Lucy sat up and rolled Natsu to his back. She swung a leg over to straddle him. A dark thrill over took her. She was on top of him this time. She was in charge. She slowly leaned down to begin giving kisses on Natsu's color bone.

Natsu groaned with each caress his angel gave him. He knew his fire could wipe of cities, but her kisses were burning him. He could feel his excitement head straight to his cock. Natsu took both hands and stroked the sides of Lucy's breasts, at times slipping under to thumb her nipples. He felt her shiver at his touch and her smell spiked up more.

"You may have never given me a hand in starting my erection, but I love getting you soaking," Natsu chuckled lowly. "Just like I know sometimes when I'd come to the guild, you'd get excited just seeing me, didn't you, _Lucy_?"

Lucy shivered and stopped her kissing to arch her back. The throbbing was getting worse. Bearable, but worse. A questioned popped in her head. "Natsu, did you ever get excited by just seeing me?" she asked.

"Oh hell yeah. It was so awkward too when you'd come to the guild and then all of a sudden, I'd look down and there it was," Natsu confessed without a hint of shame. "I had to make up some excuse to Happy and go off someplace to work it off."

Lucy lifted her head to look at him in genuine curiosity. "Did you used to jerk off a lot because of me?" she wondered.

Natsu blushed, distracting himself by looking at Lucy's cleavage. He licked his lips when he saw her perky nipples. "Well, I mean… Don't think of me as a perv or something, but yeah, I did," he said quietly.

Lucy smiled at Natsu. He looked adorable when she blushed. "Don't worry. I had to finger myself a few times because of you. But trust me: your fingers and your mouth are way better," she assured at Natsu's scowl.

Natsu nodded his approval. "Good."

Lucy went back to tracing kisses along his skin before crawling backward and kissing his abdomen. With each kiss, Natsu twitched, sighing Lucy's name. It was music to her ears. But it made her ache a lot more painful. She came down to his lower abdomen when he jolted. He was gripping the sheets in his agony with pleading in his eyes.

"Can you just touch me already?" Natsu demanded.

Lucy's eyes twinkled in humor. "So demanding, aren't we?" she teased. She backed up until she saw Natsu's length. It was curved and tense and twitched under her touch, but she was craving more. She wanted him to be sinfully aroused just as she.

Just as Natsu did, Lucy pulled on him a little rougher than she had before.

Natsu arched his back. "Lucy!" he panted.

Lucy slid her hand up and down him jerkily. Natsu hissed at the tension. When Lucy gave him hand jobs, her hands were soft and her pace was slow. It drove him crazy when she refused to speed up for him. But now that she was jerking fast, he felt his sense overload. He thrust into her hands.

"All fired-up, eh, Natsu?" Lucy whispered in that low voice he loved.

Lucy had to grasp in surprise when Natsu stopped her hand with his, glaring at her with eyes of blazing want. Gently, Lucy let go of his length and both looked down to examine it. Long and curved with a blazing head, Natsu's cock looked ready. Lucy licked her lips. She wanted to kiss his cock all over, lick him, feel him. It had been long since she finished him off with her hands and mouth.

Natsu saw the desire in Lucy's eyes and knew what she wanted. But he wanted her first. He abruptly sat up and his mouth went to her neck, grazing just above her Mark. He grinned when he heard Lucy gasp in surprise before sighing out a "yes". Her arms went around his neck and his hands played with the sides of her breasts, making her shake slightly. Natsu slid off the bed with Lucy in his arms, only to lay her back down on the bed. Lucy was at his will. He loved variations of words out if her mouth. They ranged from a moaning "oh" to a breathless "yes" to a soft "Natsu".

A thought popped into Natsu's head. "Lucy," he murmured between kisses, "you know how you make those noises like those girls in Gray's videos?"

Lucy froze. Gray's videos… What did he—? Her eyes widened. " _I sound like a porn star_?" she exclaimed.

Natsu pulled away to look at her with a grin. "Kind of. But you sound a lot hotter," he assured.

Lucy looked at him, torn between disbelief and happiness. "Did you watch a lot of Gray's videos?" she wondered.

Natsu thought about it. "Nah, not really. Maybe one or two," he answered honestly.

"And did you—…?" Lucy tried to word her question carefully. "Did you get hard because of them?"

Natsu furrowed his eyebrows. Lucy sounded so hesitant. Had he said something wrong? Perhaps she thought he preferred the videos to her! "Yeah, but only because I imagined you and me instead," he assured her, hoping it helped. "But that's beside the point. I wanted to…try something."

Lucy raised an eyebrow. "'Try something'?" she repeated.

Natsu nodded. "It'll be a little weird," he cautioned. "But I may have had a few dreams about trying it, but if it's not okay with you, then we don't—"

Lucy shushed Natsu with a finger, his rambling amusing her. He only went on tangents when he was embarrassed and she found that adorable. "We can," Lucy agreed. "Just tell me what to do."

Natsu brightened and pulled away from her finger. "Awesome! Just spread your legs and lay there," he instructed as he began to back up and slip in-between her legs.

Lucy opened her legs for Natsu was he sat in-between her legs. He himself in a kneeling position, his erection showing. Lucy looked at him curiously. "Is this good?"

Natsu saw Lucy's wet nether lips and growled. "Yeah. Perfect." He looked back up to Lucy. "Did you want to watch?"

The question startled Lucy. "Are you sure?" she asked haltingly. "I—I mean if you want me to—"

"Of course I do!" Natsu interjected. "But I want you to be comfortable, so do what you want. I'm going to start."

Lucy nodded and, curious, looked down to see what Natsu was doing. He grabbed himself—something Lucy found odd and surprisingly attractive—and began delicately rubbing his tip against her entrance.

Heat instantly warmed the room.

"N-Natsu…" Lucy sighed, clenching at his touch.

Natsu saw Lucy's face of pure bliss and inwardly cheered. Good. Lucy liked it too. He began rub a little harder and increase his momentum. He knew the man in Gray's videos did it fast immediately, but he wanted Lucy to get used to the idea. He took his hand and teased her sex, entering her a little and rubbing against her wet skin.

Natsu looked at Lucy to see her face contort in pleasure. She was panting and he heard her heart rate increase. "Natsu," she breathed, "go faster."

Natsu looked at Lucy in amazement. She wanted to go faster? He did as she asked and rubbed against her from side to side at a faster pace, the slapping of skin being heard.

" _Oh_ ," Lucy gasped.

Natsu grinned and went a little faster. He had envisioned it this way. Lucy sighing intentionally seductively to him like that girl in the video, but it did not sound as overdramatic as that girl. It sounded natural and unplanned, completely and wholly Lucy. Just thinking about the sound Lucy made in bed made Natsu hotter. He began to rub his tip against her furiously, going left to right then up and down then plunging a little inside her and pulling out. He felt her moisture lather him and felt blessed. He may not have been a man of religion, but he thanked whatever God out there as he went faster and Lucy kept getting louder.

After a few more moments of furious rubbing, Lucy could not take it anymore. The tension was too tight and she needed relief. In a loud moan, Lucy let go of all her need.

Natsu froze when Lucy came. She did not just come; she squirted hard. It was a stream of her sensual juices all over his cock and fingers. Some was on the bed and some on his lower stomach, but he did not care. She squirted all over him just as he wanted. He ran his hand up and down his shaft covered in Lucy's come and shivered. So good!

And Natsu wanted more.

Lucy gasped when Natsu began to rub against her fiercely, not giving her a moment's rest. Her nerves bundled again into a tight coil and, before she could react, she came undone.

Several times.

Natsu felt impressed and smug about Lucy's squirting. Like before, a stream of Lucy came onto him, but in a series of jolts. At one point, he ducked his head down to capture some in his mouth and swallowed in pride. He licked his lips. Her juice was delicious, addictive even. And he needed more.

Natsu teased her fiercely again, but before she could come, he replaced his dick with his mouth. She came into his mouth in a loud cry and he loved it. He swallowed her again, appreciating the sweetness of her. He licked his lips as he eyed her possessively. He knew he was greedy, selfish when it came to her, but so be it. Heart, body, and soul, he wanted all of her. He would forever be the one to own every piece. He would forever be the one to whom she surrendered.

Roughly, Natsu made out with her wet lips, changing positions too fast for her to keep up. And she squirted again into his mouth.

Lucy felt lightheaded, but giddy. Only Natsu would ever make her feel this way! When she felt his mouth make out with her down there, she wanted to rub his head for friction and force him to please her more. She heard women could have multiple orgasms, but this—

All thoughts stopped as Natsu rubbed against her at a furious pace. She came hard within seconds onto Natsu's hands and length.

Natsu groaned. "Oh yeah," he sighed, rubbing his shaft. He was panting as well. All this—watching Lucy squirt in him, hearing her breathy moans—made him nearly come himself. It was sexy to him to see Lucy this way—weak under his touch. It only took one rub to make her squirt again. Loke told him getting a woman to squirt multiple times was an achievement he could boast. Natsu was planning on boasting as Lucy came again. He withdrew his cock a little and used his hand to rub Lucy's juices on herself. He smirked when Lucy moaned his name as his hand came down to her sex and inserted two fingers. Without preamble, he jackhammered his fingers into her, his digits feeling her clench on him in an instant due to the vibration. His available hand went down to his length as he began to rub himself. Fingering Lucy and masturbating made Natsu growl in pleasure. Such a wonderful feeling!

And she squirted on him again.

Lucy panted, breathless and exhausted. She knew she left a huge mess of her fluid on the sheets, but she little cared. She barely felt Natsu pull out his fingers and lick them with a purr in his throat. Man, did he make her wet! And tired. Natsu sure knew how to please a girl, even if he had seen it in a video. Still, Lucy wouldn't mind him doing it again sometime. She felt proud she could squirt for him.

"Lucy? Mind if I go?" came Natsu's strangled voice.

Lucy looked up through half-lidded eyes to see Natsu gently massaging his length, but looking hungrily at her nether region. "Go a—"

Once Natsu heard the first word, he threw one of her legs over his shoulder and thrusted himself in Lucy. He could not go slow. He knew he would explode soon. Rather than going on top of Lucy, Natsu watched himself disappear inside her and reappear covered him Lucy's wetness then disappear again into the hole of moistness and heat. It thrilled him to watch. It mesmerized him. It made him feel ultimately connection to the love of his life, his mate. Everything fell into place with her. Everything made sense with her.

Natsu slammed into her, groaning. Lucy was his best friend. He slammed again. The girl he found accidentally under an attraction spell. He slammed again. The girl who was his North Star when he was lost.

Lucy was—… She was—…

Lucy cried out as she came, milking his length. "Oh, Natsu," she yowled.

Natsu felt the pressure getting to him and after holding himself back for a few more moments, he allowed himself to splutter inside her. He slammed as he came, his balls hitting her perineum. " _Oh yes, Lucy!_ " he roared.

Lucy was his other half—his better half.

His partner on his never-ending journey.

Natsu remembered from the videos to do a few little thrusts as he came and tried to do as such, rolling with each splutter. He saw his stuff mixed with Lucy's seep out. Some of the mixed sensual fluids dropped onto the bed and some splattered on Lucy's thighs, but they would worry about it later. Natsu felt too exhausted to care.

It took a while for both to regain their senses. Natsu rested his head on Lucy's shoulder, panting, while Lucy's heavy breathing joined his and she stared at the ceiling with hazy eyes. Neither could describe what happened in words. What they had done was beautiful; it was connection. It was something some took for granted while others made it sacred and exclusive. For some, it was "just sex"; for others, it was "tradition". But that wasn't the case for them. It could never be something described perfectly into words. It was something they could only feel, only remember through feeling.

And it felt right.

"I didn't think we'd get to a round two," Natsu confessed through breaths.

Lucy laughed breathily. "We're Mages. We train to push ourselves beyond our limit, remember?" she joked.

Natsu chuckled and lifted his head to grin down at Lucy. "You got that right," he agreed. "I can't believe I thought this stuff never mattered. I get it now."

Lucy hummed her consent. "I guess this stuff doesn't matter when you do it with more than one person. As long as it's with the person you love, it matters to you."

Natsu rested his forehead against Lucy's forehead. Loving onyx clashed with adoring chocolate. "I'm always going to love that weird girl I met in Hargeon Port," he said. "She may have talked a lot and yelled, but she turned out to be pretty badass and a worthy teammate of Team Natsu."

"And I'm always going to love that freak guy I met at Hargeon Port," Lucy said. "He may have been a little too blunt and definitely ate too much, but he turned out to be pretty adorable and worthy of being my partner."

Natsu laughed, moving his head down to meet Lucy's lips and bring her into a kiss. She easily complied, sinking into the kiss slowly, passionately, with her hands flying into his hair. They moved against each other languidly, drinking in the other, committing the others lips to memory. Natsu purred as Lucy combed through his hair and allowed one of his hands to slip down to her breast, tracing the skin lightly before teasing her nipple. Lucy sighed in pleasure in the kiss and clenched on him.

That was when they both froze.

Natsu and Lucy broke the kiss to look down and see them connected. Lucy raised an eyebrow at Natsu and Natsu looked at her sheepishly. "Oops?" he offered.

Lucy sighed. "I swear you're going to keep forgetting. Might as well wait until you're hard again for round three."

Natsu grinned. Round three sounded pleasing to him. He could hear the sounds of Lucy's moans in his ear, encouraging him to go faster, harder, rougher, pleading him for sweet release. He felt himself grow a little hard just by his naughty thoughts.

However, Natsu had to decline. "Nah. As much as I really…really want round three," he said, growing a little harder as he recalled the sensation of thrusting into Lucy, "if we do that, we won't be able to stop. And the bed might break, and I don't want the old woman to hit me."

A blank look came over Lucy. "We're in Porlyusica's hut," she realized.

Natsu looked at her in confusion. "Yeah. So?" he prompted.

Lucy looked at him in horror. "She could have heard us!" she hissed. "She's going to kill us in the morning!"

Natsu laughed. "Don't sweat it, Lucy! Both of us kind of knew you and I would be in bed together so we put a Sound-Proof Charm on the room. The old woman doesn't hear a thing," he assured.

Lucy sighed in relief. "Oh good. So"—she smirked at him—"no round three?"

Natsu shook his head, ignoring his instincts. "No, n— _Ah_." He was interrupted as Lucy craned her neck to nibble on his ear. "Lucy, I really— _Oh_." She placed soft kisses on his jaw, leading down to his neck. Blood rushed down to his member.

"You know," Lucy whispered to him in that low, sultry voice that made him growl, "having you get hard in me is pretty hot." She clenched on him in a wave of arousal and Natsu groaned in pleasure. "You sure no round three?"

Natsu looked at her with eyes mainly blinded by desire, but a bit of concern was flecked in. "You'll be sore in the morning," he warned. "And pretty tired. We have to go back to the cabin tomorrow."

"I know you're planning on keeping me in bed all day," Lucy argued.

"Not true!" Natsu countered. "I learned a few new places we could do it in! In the shower, on the balcony… Maybe on the island counter. I really wanted to take you on that counter the other day…"

"Natsu!" Lucy exclaimed, embarrassed but excited. "Are we trying all of that tomorrow?"

Natsu did his best to shrug, feeling sheepish. "We don't have to. We have a few more days on the island. Plus"—he smirked—"your spirits gave you more of those sexy clothes. And I want you to wear them for me."

Lucy looked a little uncertain. "You sure?"

"Hell yeah! I can't promise I won't rip them off though, but I'll try not to," Natsu vowed.

Lucy laughed, rolling her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Now about that round three, Mister Dragneel…"

Natsu's eyes glistened mischievously. "Of course, Misses Dragneel." He dipped his head to go to her chest. He sucked on Lucy's nipple and felt himself tensing when she clenched on him again.

" _Ah_ ," Lucy moaned.

Natsu gave the tip of her nipple a teasing flick of the tongue and looked back of at Lucy with smug eyes as he saw her eyes turn a little glazed with lust. He felt himself harden inside her. "I think I have the perfect way to start off the next round."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, amused and lust-driven. "Oh?"

Natsu smirked. "Oh yeah." He quickly ducked his head down to Lucy's Mark and kissed it. _Hard_.

" _Natsu!"_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_

 _You're probably wondering about the random change of language or perhaps about the mating ceremony itself. If you've read other stories, the mating ceremonies seemed to revolve around acceptance, marking, and mating. If you've ever read the Fairy Tail NaLu fanfiction_ The Fire that Binds Us _by PhoenixDragon (a lovely alternate universe romance), the mating the author wrote was something I had not seen before in these mating ceremonies. Rather than just Acceptance, Marking, then Mating, the author went into depth about the mating process. That story inspired me with this._

 _The mating ceremony I created was loosely based off of other stories I read—including_ The Fire that Binds Us _and Wild Rhov's_ Beastly Possession _—as well as my own imagination. I imagined while the process was broken down into those three essential parts, there was more than met the eye._

 _Like I mentioned earlier, male dragons had to impress the females to attract their attention. They had to seduce them. Natsu was no exception. He had to seduce Lucy to him, hence why he danced in a circle around her with his fire. Dragons had to show off their power and style in order to capture a female's attention. Natsu had done the same._

 _I imagined that there was a trial of compatibility before Acceptation. For one who wanted to claim their mate, they were to see if they were compatible for each other. Strength it seems is a common "deal-breaker" for dragons, as seen in the Inheritance Saga by Christopher Paolini. I imagined dragons would have fought their mate, raced them for endurance, strength, and prowess as well as matching magical ability. You did not see a pure test of compatibility here because the compatibility was already tested through Natsu and Lucy's years of fighting alongside one another. Their magic, their endurance, their strength, and their personalities worked well together, leading them to be ideal mates._

 _Acceptance was the next thing. Rather than the traditional "I accept [insert full name] as my mate" speech, I brought a deeper approach into Acceptance. I imagined that to accept a mate meant the combining of magic, for their magic to accept one another as well as their body, hearts, and souls. They had to be linked forever as a form of Acceptance. Their souls had to join as one, to become each other's lifeline. After Natsu and Lucy combined their magic, they were forced into a new soul—the soul they created together. That soul would be half of Lucy's and half of Natsu's. But they both had to formally accept each other in order for their two halves to combine. This phase is not necessary for mates whom only desire to mate and nothing more._

 _The old language you read as the tongue used in the ancient days. Natsu was speaking in the tongue dragon's originally spoke in while Lucy was speaking in the tongue of the stars. It was tradition to speak in the Olden Tongue when accepting your mate. It was to ensure their ancestors approved of their union. Once the two accepted each other, their souls were linked._

 _That moves to the Marking and Mating phase. Some people believe Marking and Mating are the same, when they are not. A Dragon can Mate another without any emotional attachment. A Dragon can Mark another Dragon, but never Mate with him or her (however, such a phenomenon never happens, or a Mating is followed after a Marking). The Mark given to mates symbolizes their ultimate love and union. It connects them to each other emotionally. With Lucy being human, she is unable to feel the Mark's pull nor can she give Natsu a Mark of his own. However, the Mark affects her in arousal or comfort when Natsu touches it. Natsu, however, is able to feel any intense emotions Lucy has such as anger and distress or happiness, and will be drawn to Lucy due to the Mark's pull._

 _The Mating phase is sex, plain and simple. As Natsu said, the Mating part is brutal. It is about the male dominating the female and mating her, planting his sperm inside her for the use of reproduction alone. While Dragons are intelligent beings, they do not "make love" as humans do. They mate out of reproduction solely. Natsu's Mating with Lucy was brutal because the dragon/demon half of him emerged, something unnatural. Natsu was dominating Lucy, needing to mate with her to show her he was her superior as well as the purpose of breeding. It was cruel to Lucy due to her only being human, but in Natsu's mind, he did nothing wrong and it was normal. He forced Lucy to submit to him, as any male would do to their female. As a human, his semen would not hurt Lucy, but as when the other side of Natsu emerges, magic is imbedded into his sperm, making his semen hot and painful for her. Were he to mate with a female Dragon Slayer, she would be able to accustom to him._

 _I do not believe in "the heat" as many authors refer to. I believe that mates will frequently mate until a child is conceived, yes, but that is all. Even after the child is conceived or while the female is in pregnancy, both the male and female are sexually active._

 _The Phases of Dragon Mating:_

Interest _— this is when mates merely take interest in the other. It is nothing more than a physical size up of body, style, and so forth._

Compatibility _— this a trial for mates who decided to pursue the interest of one another. They test out the abilities and at times personalities of the other to see if they are ideal mates._

Acception _— when mates decide they are ideal or compatible, they accept another by combining their magic as well as linking their souls to one another. Acception is not needed in mates whom are temporary._

Marking _— this part is optional. If the mates have agreed to be temporary partners, Marking is not necessary. However, lifelong mates decide to Mark each other. The Mark serves as a declaration of their union._

Mating _— the act of sexual intercourse to complete the mating ritual. Male become dominating counterpart while female acts as the submissive. In terms of lifelong-mated dragons, the Mating Phase serves for reproductive purposes only. In terms of temporarily mated dragons, the Mating Phase serves as a release of sexual needs as well as reproduction._

Child-Rearing/Nesting Phase _— this phase is only included when the female is successfully impregnated. The male will expand his cave as well as become the hunter for the female, keeping her comfortable. The female will stay within the cave until she lays her eggs. From then, the male and female will bath their eggs in magic at least once a week and take turns keeping them warm._

 _I hope you enjoyed_ Interlude: Fairy Love _and stay tuned for my announcement!_

 **Announcement**

Release Date of _Fairy Baby_ : October 31

 _Summary_ : Lucy and Natsu have returned from their intense honeymoon to begin their lives as man and wife. But when an unexpected surprise happens, Lucy is put into grave dangers from past enemies and new ones.

 _Updates_ : I have to post _Fairy Baby_ specifically on October 31 because each week on Saturday will be a new week of Lucy's pregnancy! There of course will be some specials—already they have been planned and are in the process of being written. Once a month, starting in October, will be a new one-shot to the story that will be posted on a Saturday as well. The one-shot won't be too length and will be in a collection called _The Fairy Mini-Shorts_.

 _Tune in October for the beginning of the first book and first part of the one-shot collection!_

 **Magnafeana**


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